Married, With Children
by hellogoodbye57
Summary: AU. Set 16 years after A Different Beginning. Explores where Lorelai and Luke's life would be if they met and married when Lorelai was still pregnant with Rory.
1. Chapter 1

I've had a bunch of requests for a sequel to A Different Beginning, so I'm going to go ahead and post this even though it's not finished and might never be finished (I have a tendency to get absorbed in a particular tv show or two and write a bunch of fanfiction on that one before moving on to another. Currently, I've been working a lot on Bones and X-files along with a couple of my own stories. I've tried to go back to this, but I really can't think of where to go, and I don't want to force anything). Anyway, if anyone else wants to continue from here or write their own sequel to the first story, go right ahead.

Oh yeah, I own nothing.

Lorelai Danes groaned when she heard the insistent beeping of her alarm clock. She hated mornings, especially the time when she was just waking up—before she had had her coffee. Blindly, she reached over her husband to hit the offending alarm, but she missed and elbowed him in the chest. He grunted but did not open his eyes; on her next try, Lorelai managed to make contact with the alarm and stopped the annoying sound. Her eyelids opened slightly, emitting only a faint glimmer of light until her pupils had a chance to adjust. Slowly, she opened her eyes fully and looked down as the sleeping form beside her. At 34, Luke worked hard to keep his body in excellent shape. His well-defined muscles were clearly visible since he wore no shirt to bed. Lorelai's eyes lingered for a moment on his abs and large biceps before traveling to the face she knew and loved. His brown hair was tangled and unkempt because of the early hour, but she found she liked it better that way. Carefully, Lorelai reached out to trace the stubble on his cheek; he often forgot to shave, and Lorelai usually did not bother reminding him since she enjoyed feeling his rough cheeks. Suddenly, she felt a hand close over hers and looked up to see Luke's deep blue eyes staring directly at her. He slowly sat up and brought his mouth to hers. Lorelai happily returned the kiss.

When Luke felt the soft fingers on his face, he had awakened immediately. Lorelai's touch could arouse him even from the deepest sleep. When he opened his eye and looked at her, he once again marveled at how lucky he was. Lorelai was, by far, the most beautiful woman he had ever met. She had recently turned thirty-two, but Luke thought the added years simply made her more stunning. Her face showed no hint of wrinkles, and her hair did not have a touch of gray. She was tall and thin but extremely well-endowed; in fact, she had the body of a supermodel despite her atrocious eating habits. Her face was gently rounded with perfectly proportioned features and bright blue eyes which always seemed to sparkle with laughter. He loved those eyes. He could literally stare into them for hours.

As the kiss became more heated, Lorelai's hands entangled themselves in his hair, and his hands sought out the familiar curve of her hips. He lowered her to the bed, rolling over so that he was leaning over her. His tongue found its way into her mouth, and she used her own tongue to push against it. Her hands slid down his back, caressing his naked skin. He moaned as her fingernails gently scraped against his skin and moved his own hands to the bottom of her shirt. The shirt had a large picture of Mickey Mouse on the front, clearly showing Lorelai's youthful personality. Lorelai kissed him by slipping her hands into his pants and grabbing his butt playfully; he growled, a low, guttural sound, and moved his lips to her neck. Enjoying herself, Lorelai slipped her hands under the waistband of his boxers and slid them to the front of his body. His lips paused briefly before resuming their attack on her neck. Lorelai's hands moved lower, and he quickly pulled off her pajama shirt and tossed it aside. Lorelai's hands slipped still lower, and he found that he could not undress fast enough. His hands fumbled for a minute with the clasp to her bra before it, too, was tossed to the side, and he brought his lips to hers with crushing force. As he reached down to remove his own pants, he heard the unmistakable click of the bedroom door being opened. "Damn. I forgot to lock it again," he muttered.

Lorelai giggled. "Well, you were a bit preoccupied." Reluctantly, he rolled off of her, and she used the sheet to cover her as they both looked toward the door. A six-year-old boy stood there, staring at them with wide, blue eyes. His brown hair was matted to his head, and he wore blue plaid pajamas. He clutched a stuffed dog in his small, skinny arms.

"What are we doing?" he asked his parents.

"We were. . . just getting ready for work," Lorelai answered as Luke rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. He hated being interrupted by one of his kids—something that had happened all too often during his marriage. Lorelai, however, seemed to have no qualms about displaying their affection in many places he found highly inappropriate. "What are you doing up?" Lorelai questioned as William continued to look curiously at her and Luke.

"Rory's up packing her bag for school. She woke the rest of us up."

"Oh, right, the first day of school. How could I forget?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm hungry," William complained.

"Why don't you go downstairs and watch tv for a couple minutes?" Luke suggested. "I'll be down to make you breakfast soon." William nodded and left the room. Look closed the door behind his son and looked back at Lorelai who had already risen from the bed and was searching for her clothes. He watched her for a minute, and she turned to face him with a smile.

"What're you looking at, mister?" she inquired, approaching him.

"My beautiful wife," he answered as she came nearer. He leaned over and kissed her passionately. "You know. . . it is. . . the first day of school," he said between kisses. "Ceasar. . . could open for me. . . And we could. . . celebrate." She pulled him into a lengthy kiss which left them both breathless.

"As much as I'd love to, I have to get to the inn," she panted. "There's a huge wedding this weekend, and Sookie's already freaking out because she thinks nothing she's cooked is good enough. And I'm way behind on planning. And I have to keep Michelle from killing these two guests in Room 13 who keep asking him to say certain phrases with his accent."

"Okay, I get it, you're busy. I guess I'll be lonely today."

"You could go to the diner."

"Being with Ceasar just isn't the same."

"I'm glad you think that. But I promise, I'm all yours tonight."

"Dirty."

"It was intended to be." She gave him a final kiss before backing away. "Okay. I've got to go take a shower."

"I guess I'll go fix breakfast."

"And try to control yourself, Luke," she added with a snicker. He followed her gaze down to his pants.

"Aw geez!"

As Luke crossed through the family room on his way into the kitchen, William saw him and followed her father into the kitchen. In the kitchen, Luke found his oldest daughter, Lorelai—called Rory to avoid confusing—already sitting at the table. Actually, Rory was technically his step-daughter though she had grown up looking up to him as a father, and he had adopted her when she was three. Her biological father, Chris, sent the occasional letter or called, but he had never been a part of her life. Rory had grown up calling Luke "Dad" and Chris simply "Chris," a fact that Chris resented. Luke loved Rory like his own daughter; in fact, it was being around her that finally made him realize he liked kids—some kids, at least.

Rory was already dressed and ready for school. At fifteen, Luke expected her to hate school, but she always seemed to look forward to the end of summer when she could continue her quest for knowledge. That morning, her thick brown hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and she wore a new pair of jeans with a pale pink t-shirt. She already seemed wide awake. "How many cups of coffee have you had?" Luke questioned suspiciously as he began to pull ingredients for breakfast out of the refrigerator. William continued to tail him, eager to help.

"None," Rory answered brightly.

"Really?" Luke was still skeptical although Rory rarely lied.

"Yes, really, Dad. I'm just excited."

"Okay." Luke returned to his cooking.

"Can I help?" Rory offered. She had been helping her father cook since before she could remember, and she loved how they could bond over cooking.

"Sure. Just grab a bowl and start whipping some eggs."

"Ooh, I want to help!" William said excitedly, racing to his older sister. She pulled a bowl out of the cabinet and placed it on the table. He climbed into a chair and watched as she demonstrated how to crack the egg open. As she hit the egg on the bowl, her sister Emmalyne trudged into the room, still wearing her flannel pajama pants and long, baggy t-shirt. Luke looked up from his bacon at his twelve-year-old daughter. Her brown hair was in a sloppy ponytail, but she seemed not to care. Like all her siblings, her eyes were the same clear blue of her parents. Her features were angular, and her figure was thin and muscular. She had inherited her father's love of sports; she filled her time running track, playing softball, and playing basketball. She ruffled her younger brother's hair as she sank into a seat beside him.

"Dad, could you please remind my charming older sister that not everybody looks forward to the first day of school as much as she does, and it isn't necessary to wake us up before the crack of dawn," Emma said.

"You needed time to get ready," Rory defended.

"I needed time to sleep." Before the argument could continue further, nine-year-old Ellie walked into the room in a pink, short-sleeved nightgown. Her eyes were still partially closed from sleep, and she was unable to stifle a yawn. She immediately stumbled over to her father and wrapped her arms around his legs. With a smile, he picked her up, and she wrapped her feet around his waist and her arms around his neck like a monkey. Using one arm to support her back, he continued to flip bacon with his free hand. Ellie seemed to perk up when she smelled the bacon. Luke set her on the counter, and she watched as he cooked.

"Hey, who wants toast?" Luke asked.

"Me!" three voices chorused.

"Ellie?" he asked. The small girl shook her head. "Emma, why don't you get out some silverware and jelly and butter and stuff." Emma sighed as if he had asked her to clean all the bathrooms at New York Central Station, but she stood up to do as he asked anyway.

"Hey, William, don't eat that!" Rory shouted suddenly. Luke turned in enough time to see William pause with a finger dripping with raw egg halfway to his mouth. He looked at Rory curiously.

"Why not?" he questioned innocently.

"Because it's yucky, and it'll make you sick," she told him.

"Come on, let's wash up," Luke said, lifting him out of his seat and up to the sink. He carefully washed his hands and allowed Luke to dry them before rejoining his sister who was cooking the eggs. Luke sighed. Jam hands were one thing, but raw eggs? How could kids get into so much?

As the rest of breakfast cooked, Luke started a pot of coffee, knowing his wife would demand some as soon as she joined them. Ellie watched in fascination as he loaded the coffee grounds and water in their proper place and turned to the coffeepot. As if on cue, Lorelai entered the kitchen with the youngest member of the family. At two, Reid had finally lost most of his baby fat, leaving him as thin as the rest of the family. Although he had blue eyes like the rest of his family, his hair was blond and cut in a bowl-cut. He was still half-asleep with his head lolling against his mother's shoulder. "Nice to see I've trained you well," Lorelai commented with a glance at the coffeepot. Luke gave an inaudible response. Lorelai tried to put Reid down, but he clung to her neck, so she kept him in her arms as she walked over to Luke. "Something smells good."

"That's breakfast," Luke told her.

"Really? I thought it was that new aftershave you bought."

"I thought you didn't like it."

"I didn't like it because it didn't remind me of you at first. But now that you wear it so much, it does remind me of you, so I like it."

"Crazy," Luke muttered.

"And yet you still love me."

"What can I say? I'm crazy, too." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. Before she had a chance to deepen the kiss, she felt a tug at her pants leg and looked down to see William standing there.

"Mommy, come look at the eggs Rory and I made!" Lorelai gave Luke one last, pleading look before following her son to see the eggs. Luke began to place the food on the plates which Emma had set out on the table. Reid fussed a bit when Lorelai but him in the high chair but quieted down when Luke set some food in front of him. Lorelai looked at her own plate and groaned.

"Turkey bacon?" she asked.

"It's good for you," he insisted.

"But it's yucky."

"Interesting choice of words."

"I'm serious, Luke."

"Then don't use the word yucky."

"Fine. Then turkey bacon is gastronomically displeasing."

"Eat it anyway. Besides, half of it is real bacon."

"Which half?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Luke lifted Ellie off the counter, and she took the seat beside him before beginning to devour her breakfast.

"Sadist," Lorelai said, sticking her tongue out at Luke.

"Sadist who's trying to keep your cholesterol intake below comatose level."

"Give up."

"I'm considering it." Luke took his seat and watched as she poured herself a cup of coffee. Rory was the only person who talked much during breakfast since the rest of the family was too tired, but she seemed not to mind. She talked a mile a minute about the books she had read, the teachers she hoped to have, and the classes she hoped to take. She was disappointed about not being accepted into Chilton, a prestigious private school she had applied to, but she tried to remain enthusiastic about continuing at Stars Hollow High.

After breakfast, Lorelai helped the kids pack their lunches while Luke washed the dishes. "Don't just pack a bunch of junk food," Luke told them.

"You're no fun," Lorelai pouted.

"I'm just trying to keep our kids healthy."

"Are you going to inspect he lunch boxes again?"

"I might."

Lorelai sighed. "Okay, guys, everybody needs something yucky in their lunch."

"Can I have carrots?" Ellie asked. "Carrots aren't yucky."

"You are your father's daughter," Lorelai told her as she searched for the carrots.

Once all the lunches were packed, Emma, Ellie, and William left to get dressed while Rory dried and put away the dishes. Lorelai picked Reid up and asked, "Who do you want to go to work with today, buddy?"

"Mommy!" he answered happily, clapping his hands together.

"See, Luke, he likes me better," Lorelai said triumphantly.

Having finished the dishes, Luke dried his hands and turned around to face them. "Reid, who do you like better?" he asked.

"Daddy!" Reid told him.

"He's just answering the name of whoever asks the question," Luke told her.

"Ooh, this could be fun. Reid, what does Daddy sometimes say whenever-" Before Lorelai could finish her question, Luke placed a hand over her mouth.

"Jeez, Lorelai, he's two!"

Lorelai bit his fingers to force him to remove his hand. He pulled it back, allowing her to speak again. "Exactly. He won't know what I'm talking about."

"Rory will." Luke nodded to his oldest daughter who was putting away the last of the dishes.

"So? It's true," Lorelai argued.

"No, it's not."

"Sure it is. Remember a couple weeks ago when-" Luke's hand covered her mouth once more.

"We're not discussing this." Lorelai grinned devilishly and nipped at his fingers again. Returning the smile, he pulled his hand from her mouth and replaced it with his lips. Lorelai gently pushed him back against the refrigerator and slipped her tongue into his mouth.

"Can you guys control yourselves for just one more minute until all innocent eyes leave the room?" Rory questioned.

"Can you leave fast?" Lorelai countered. Heaving a large sigh, Rory took Reid from his mother's arms and left the room. "Now, where were we?" Lorelai asked. She kissed him for a couple more minutes before pulling back with a sigh of disappointment. "I have to get to work."

"Go on. I'll take Reid today."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Now go." He gave her a final kiss before she said goodbye to the kids and left. Luke took Reid from Rory and helped William get ready. At soon as his four oldest had left for school, he grabbed some toys and things for Reid and left for the diner.

Breakfast rush was in full swing when Luke reached the diner. Ms. Patty and Babette, the town gossips, spotted Reid as soon as Luke walked in the door. "Oooh, look, it's the baby!" Babette exclaimed. Luke rolled his eyes. Every time they saw Reid, they acted as if they had never seen a baby before.

"I no baby!" Reid informed them proudly.

"Come here, sugah!" Babette cooed, ignoring his comment. Luke passed Reid to Babette as eh left to take orders from the rest of his customers. At the first table he came to, a woman in her early thirties was reading the menu. She had wavy brown hair and penetrating green eyes. Her features were small and delicate, and she looked to be around 5'3" or 5'4". As he always did when he saw a beautiful woman, Luke began to compare her to Lorelai. He noticed immediately that she was shorter, and her nose seemed too small for her face. Also, Lorelai's eyes seemed much happier. Shaking these thoughts to the back of his head, Luke asked, "What can I get you?"

"Tea and whole wheat toast," the woman answered. _'She eats healthier than Lorelai, too. I can't complain to her about cholesterol,' _Luke thought.

"Anything else?"

"A half a grapefruit, please." Luke smiled, remembering Lorelai's opinions on grapefruit. She believed they were all out to get her, enticing her with their pretty pink color but tricking her by their "yucky" taste. As Luke wrote down the order, he heard Reid's voice.

"Daddy, I have to go potty," the small boy whined. Luke looked down at him before pocketing his ordering pad and turning back to the woman.

"If you'll excuse me for a minute. . "

"By all means, go right ahead." The woman waved him away, and he lifted the small boy into his arms and carried him upstairs to his old apartment. The small, two-room apartment was where he and Lorelai had spent the first three years of their marriage until Emma was born and they needed more space. A couple items of furniture still remained, including an old bed which he and Lorelai still used from time to time. Of course, his and Lorelai's time alone had diminished significantly because of the kids. He shook his head, thinking about the interruption that morning. As much as he loved his kids, they had the worst possible timing.

When Luke brought Reid back downstairs, he set him up at the end of the counter with paper, some crayons, and his toy cars before continuing to serve his customers. When he brought the brown-haired stranger her toast and grapefruit, she commented, "Your son's adorable." Luke chuckled.

"He gets that from his mother."

"How old is he?"

"Two. His name's Reid."

"I like that. It's different. I'm Kat, by the way."

"Luke."

"Really? So you own this place then?"

"Yeah." Luke glanced around the room, wondering if any customers needed a refill. Kat glanced down at his left hand and noticed the ring finger was bare.

"So you're not wearing a wedding ring, I see," she began. Luke quickly brought his gaze to his hand.

"Damn! I knew I was forgetting something." He had taken it off the night before to fix the sink drain and had left it lying on the counter. "My wife's gonna kill me." As if she heard him, Lorelai chose that minute to walk into the diner. Luke groaned and turned away from Kat.

"I need coffee, Luke!" Lorelai called.

"You already had two cups this morning at home. Not to mention what you had at the inn. You don't _need_ coffee."

"For your information, I didn't have any at the inn."

"Really?"

"Well, one cup, but yours is _soo_ much better."

"You're going to kill yourself one of these days," Luke told her as he went behind the counter and grabbed the coffeepot.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just hand over the goods. To go, please." As Luke handed her the cup, she leaned over the counter and kissed him. The kiss lasted a bit longer than their usual pecks in public, but neither seemed to notice. When Lorelai pulled away, both were grinning. "You forgot something this morning," Lorelai told him as she produced his wedding ring from her pocket.

"How did you. . ?"

"I found it on the counter while I was getting dressed. I knew you'd never remember so I put it in my pocket. Good thing, too. Now everyone knows you're taken."

"Happily so."

"Good to hear. Now, I've got to go." She gave him a short peck and kissed Reid's forehead. "Bye, sweets." With that, she took her coffee and left. Luke watched her go for a minute before grabbing the coffeepot to pour refills.

As he approached Kat's table, she asked, "So that was your wife?"

"Yeah."

"She's very pretty." Luke grunted, wanting to end the conversation. "How long have you been married?" Luke sighed, knowing he was not going to easily extract himself from the conversation.

"Fourteen and a half years."

"Wow. I couldn't get my marriage to last fourteen and a half months." Luke was saved from having to respond by Reid.

"I tirsty, Daddy!" he called.

"Coming, buddy," Luke said, walking over to his son.

Lorelai was still trying to work out some of the finer details of the wedding with the bride's mother when she heard a loud crash from the kitchen. Excusing herself, she rushed in to find her best friend, Sookie, lying on the floor surrounded by pots and pans. Sookie was heavyset with dirty blond hair that she had pulled into pigtails. Her face was plump with rounded features. "Sookie, what happened?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know. I was just reaching for my favorite frying pan when bam, I'm suddenly on the floor surrounded by all my pots and pans.

"Sookie, we've talked about this. You need to be more careful," Lorelai admonished as she helped her friend to her feet.

"I know, I know."

"I swear, sometimes I think you're trying to get worker's comp."

"Well, that would be nice. . ." Sookie stared off into space with a vacant look on her face.

"Sookie, snap out of it! You love working here."

"I know. Ooh, by the way, I think I finally figured out what Luke marinated those pork chops in!" Sookie said excitedly. Lorelai groaned. Ever since Sookie had come to dinner at the Danes house a week before, she had been struggling to discover the secret to Luke's porkchops. She grabbed a pan from the stove and a nearby knife and fork and held out a bite of porkchop to Lorelai. Knowing arguing was fruitless, Lorelai took the offered porkchop and chewed experimentally. When Lorelai made no comment, Sookie's face fell. "It's not it, is it? I should have known." Sookie started to toss the porkchop into a nearby trashcan, but Lorelai stopped her.

"It may not be the same as Luke's, but it's still good."

"Really?" Sookie's face brightened.

"Yeah. I say we have a new item for our menu." Glad to have averted another crisis, Lorelai took a second bite of porkchop and left. She passed Michel on his wayback to the lobby; he was arguing wigh someone over the phone. She thought he was hilarious when he was upset; his dark skin tinged a shake of red, and his French accent grew even more pronounced. When she rejoined the mother of the bride, Lorelai asked, "So where were we?"

"Flower color."

"Right. I was thinking-" Lorelai was interrupted once more, this time by a loud stream of French curses. She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid this. . . situation falls under my job description, too."

"Go ahead. I'll wait."

"Tank you for being so understanding about this. I'll be right back." Lorelai hurried to the front desk. "Michel, this had better be a serious problem."

"It is the linen guy. He claims we owe him 300."

"What for?"

"I asked him the same question, but he refused to answer."

"Here. Gimme the phone." Lorelai took the phone from him. "Hi, Dave, Michel says there's a problem with your bill. . . no, I understand towels are expensive. . . Yes, I know that, but aren't we your biggest customers? It would be a shame if we took our business elsewhere. . . Uh-huh. . . okay, so what we paid you is good, right? I thought so. See ya soon, Dave." Lorelai hung up and turned to Michel. "See, it's not that hard. Now, no more interruptions." She turned and walked back to the couch. "Crisis number two averted!" she announced.

Later that day, Lorelai was sorting through some paperwork at the front desk. When she looked up, she saw Luke standing in the lobby, shifting from one foot to the other. "Hey, hon!" she greeted him. "I didn't know we had a date today."

"We don't," he said, kissing her quickly. Lorelai noticed he seemed distracted; his hands had not left his pockets. "But the lunch rush was over, so I left Caesar in charge."

"Where's Reid?"

"With Sookie. Look, can we talk for a minute?"

"Uh-oh. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just. . . can we talk somewhere a little more private than here?"

"Sure. We'll just go to my office." Lorelai led him to her office and opened the door, motioning him inside. She closed the door after she had also walked in and turned to face him. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, he brought his lips forcefully down on hers. She stumbled backwards a couple steps until her back hit the solid wooden door. Luke's tongue was already greedily exploring her mouth as his hands braced them against the door. After a few minutes, his lips began to work their way down her neck. "Luke, what are you doing?" she gasped.

"You know perfectly well what I'm doing," he said, his voice deeper than normal.

"You know it's the middle of the day and we're at the inn, don't you?"

Luke pulled away and looked up at her face. "After the interruption this morning, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I was afraid we'd be interrupted again tonight. Besides, I don't know if I could wait that long."

"I told you to control yourself," Lorelai said with a wide grin.

"Around you, that's impossible."

"Well, let's see if we can find some way to relieve those hormones then." Lorelai pulled him over to her desk and shoved some papers to the side. "I've always wondered what it would be like to do it on a desk," she mused. Luke responded by kissing her again. His fingers quickly found the buttons of her blouse and began to undo them. In his haste, he ripped the shirt off without undoing the last two buttons. Lorelai heard them hit the ground. "Somebody's mighty eager," she whispered. He simply tossed the blouse aside and quickly removed her bra. Lorelai gasped as his lips found their way to her chest. She marveled that after so many years of marriage, Luke's touch could still send chills down her spine.

In no time at all, Luke's flannel and undershirt had joined her clothes on the floor. He quickly removed her skirt and ran a finger slowly up from her knee to her inner thigh. She bit his shoulder to keep from groaning loudly, knowing they had to be quiet. Now as eager as Luke, she unzipped his pants and pulled them off. He struggled out of them, and they were soon discarded. His finger reached the edge of her underwear and pulled it off hastily, allowing his finger to explore her entire body. Lorelai was unable to suppress a moan as he slipped his finger inside of her, and her hands quickly pulled off his boxers. She allowed her hands to roam his lower body, coming to rest on his groin. "I think someone's ready," she teased.

"Lor-e-lai," he said, pronouncing each syllable of her name slowly. She giggled as he pushed her back onto the desk and positioned himself above her.

Sometime later, they lay on the floor behind her desk, completely naked. "I can't believe we just did that," Luke said as he stroked her hair.

"Hey, mister, it was your idea."

"I know. I can't believe that either." She laughed and kissed him passionately. He turned so they were facing one another.

"Ready for round two?" Lorelai questioned.

"You'll be the death of me, woman."

"Well, we have to relieve those pesky hormones." He leaned over to kiss her again when they heard the door to the office open. Both froze, hoping they were well hidden behind the desk.

"Mom?" Rory's voice called. When she received no response, Rory left the room. As soon as they heard the door close behind her, both Lorelai and Luke breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess I'm not the only one who forgets to lock the door," Luke teased.

"Well, I didn't expect you to attack me like that," Lorelai defended as she began to gather her clothes. "We're lucky Rory didn't notice our clothes."

"Yeah." Luke pulled on his jeans and shirt quickly before kissing her. "We're still on for tonight, right?" he asked once he pulled back.

"And you say I'm bad."

"I guess you've rubbed off on me." Luke kissed her again; it lasted a bit longer this time until Luke finally pulled away. "If we continue like that, we'll be back on that desk in no time."

"And there's a problem with that because. . ." Lorelai leaned closer to him, but he stopped her.

"Because our daughter is obviously looking for you, and I need to get our son and get back to the diner." He gave her a quick peck. "I'll see you tonight."

"Bye. Love you."

"Love you, too." With another kiss, he left. As he was walking out, he ran straight into Rory. Luke was suddenly a bit nervous.

"Hey, Dad. What are you doing here?" Rory wondered, hugging him.

"I was just. . . fixing something for your mom," he invented.

"Where's your toolbox?"

Sometimes, Luke hated having smart kids. "In the truck. I just came in to tell your mom I was finished and pick up your brother."

"Where is Mom anyway?"

"In her office."

"Really? I didn't see her there when I went in a couple minutes ago."

"Well, she's there now. I've gotta go now, kid. I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye, Dad." Rory walked into her mother's office and found her cleaning up a bunch of papers which were strewn across the floor. "What happened here? It looks like a hurricane hit."

"Well, I can get pretty hurricane-like when I'm upset.' Lorelai hugged her daughter in greeting. "Let's see, your shadows are missing. Will has soccer, Ellie ballet, and Emma softball. Right?"

"Yeah. You know, sometimes these three really are like shadows. I feel like Brigham Young when they're around."

"Interesting comparison, but okay. How was school?"

"Not bad. Since I already finished _Huck Finn,_ I had a chance to work on my report in class toady, so I'm already halfway done."

"That's my studious girl!"

"I need to be to go to Harvard. Anything I can do to help?"

"Not today, hon, but check with Sookie. I know she loves your help in the kitchen," Lorelai suggested.

"Okay." Rory happily left the room and joined her mother's best friend in the kitchen. "Hey, Sookie, anything I can do?" she offered.

"Taste that." Sookie pointed to a porkchop on the stove. Rory cautiously took a bit. "Anything like your dad's?" Sookie wondered.

"Sort of. But I think the species are a little different."

"Damn. I thought I finally had it."

Lorelai left a couple hours later to pick up Will and Ellie before joining Luke at his diner. He had already picked Emma up after softball practice, and she had disappeared upstairs to shower. Lorelai retrieved Reid from his seat at the counter and found a large table in the back. Luke saw them and walked over, kissing Lorelai in greeting. "I'm sorry I can't eat with you guys, but I'm swamped right no," he told his family.

"Then I guess we'll help," Lorelai declared. She went behind the counter and retrieved an apron she had long ago claimed as her own. Luke shook his head, knowing arguing was futile. Lorelai insisted on helping him with the dinner rush most days, and she had recruited the kids to help, too, claiming it was a way for them to bond as a family. Luke enjoyed having them helping him, so he never complained. In fact, he had pointed out how swamped he was so she could offer (or rather demand) to help.

Rory, as usual, worked the cash register; she sat Ellie up on a stool beside her so the young girl could learn how the cash register worked. Lorelai took the boys with her as she waitressed, leaving Luke free to help Caesar in the kitchen. When Emma came back down in clean clothes, Lorelai handed her an apron, and she began to take orders unaided, having done it many times before. Luke smiled at his family. It seemed natural for all of them to be working in the diner. He would not have it any other way.

By 7:30, the dinner rush had died down, leaving Luke free to eat dinner with his family. He had let Caesar leave already, so he and Lorelai would have to check on the few customers they had left from time to time, but the kids seemed not to mind. Will began the conversation by giving a detailed account of his soccer practice. "I scored a goal on Jimmy who's really big, so no one can ever score a goal on him. Except me."

"Well, I guess we can move you up to the older team then," Lorelai teased.

"No, Mommy, that's for eight-year-olds. I'm not eight!"

"But I thought you could kick goals past the really big kids."

"But eight-year-olds are really, really big."

Luke chuckled. "So, Emma, how was your practice?" he questioned.

Emma shrugged. "Okay."

"That's all we get?" Lorelai wondered. "You aren't going to tell us the _uH_gory details? Did anybody get hit in the head with the ball? Maybe someone got knocked out and now can't remember who they are."

Emma rolled her eyes, reminding Lorelai forcibly of Luke. "No, nothing quite so dramatic, Mom. We threw the ball, we hit the ball, and we ran around. Then we were done." Emma reached for the pasta in the center of the table. For family dinners, Luke often cooked something that was not on the diner's menu to give the kids and Lorelai a variety in their diet. He had stumbled upon the recipe for the spaghetti casserole they were eating that night a few years before; since it was healthy and everyone ate it without complaint, he had cooked it quite often since then.

"Such an exciting life you lead," Lorelai said. "What about you, Ellie? Did you have fun at ballet practice?"

"Uh-hut. Ms. Patty said I was the best in the class! She's going to give me a solo part in the recital on Saturday."

"That's great!" Lorelai enthused. "We'll be there in the front row with the camera."

"But what about my game?" Will whined.

"What time does your recital start, Ellie?" Luke asked.

"One."

"And what about your game, Will?"

"Noon-thirty."

"It's twelve thirty, retard," Ellie told him.

"Ellie, don't call your brother a retard," Luke scolded automatically.

"Well, he is," Ellie protested.

"Ellie." Luke had adopted the tone of voice that all his children knew meant business. They did not dare cross him when he spoke with that tone. "Thank you. Now, since your mother and I obviously can't be in two places at once-"

"Three," Emma corrected.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Three places. My game's at 1:30."

"Sometimes I wish I was Marty McFly," Lorelai muttered.

"You don't need a car. You could just use a time turner like Hermione," Ellie pointed out. Luke shot Lorelai a look which clearly said, "These are definitely your kids."

"True. But since I have neither a flux capacitor or a time turner, we'll have to do this the good old-fashioned way. I'll drop Will off before his game and while he's warming up, I'll drop Ellie off at Ms. Patty's. Emma, your father will drop you off at the field and go back to watch your sister's recital. I'll stay to watch most of your brother's game, so I can still make it to your game soon after it starts. I'll ask Mrs. Anderson to pick up Will and drop him off at the softball field."

"But Mom, why can't Dad come to my game?" Emma whined. "Last time you came, you started cheering when the pitcher walked me even though I did nothing."

"Yeah, and you cheered when the other team scored a goal," Will reminded her.

"Well at least now we know who the favorite parent is," Lorelai remarked. "Fine. I'll go to the ballet recital and your father will go to the games."

"Sounds good," Emma agreed, and Will and Ellie nodded.

"Great. Now that that's settled, Rory, what are you doing on Saturday?"

"I thought I'd hang out with Lane for a bit. Maybe we'll come to one of the games."

"Ooh, Rory, come to my recital," Ellie begged.

"No, come to my game!" Will exclaimed.

"I asked first, Butthead," Ellie said.

"Hey, what did I say about name calling?" Luke asked.

"Sorry, Dad," Ellie told him, widening her blue eyes in innocence. As soon as her father's back was turned, however, she stuck her tongue out at her younger brother.

After they finished their meal, Rory walked her younger siblings home while Lorelai stayed to help Luke close up. As she had done so many times in the past, Lorelai cleared and wiped down the tables while Luke cleaned the kitchen. "Do you ever wonder if maybe five was too many?" Lorelai called to her husband. He knew without even asking what she was talking about; fourteen years of marriage had allowed them to virtually read one another's minds. Luke emerged from the kitchen and began to sort through the receipts in the cash register.

"Any reason why you're asking?"

"I don't know. I was just thinking about all the conflicts on Saturday, and I couldn't help but to wonder if we're stretching ourselves too thin."

"I don't regret having any of our kids, Lorelai. They're al wonderful, and I love all of them. Five may be a lot, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

"You can be quite mushy-gushy at times, Luke."

"A fact which better remain between the two of us."

"So you admit you're mushy-gushy then?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it quite like that." He kissed her.

"What d'ya say we go home and get the kids to bed so we can get started on our date for tonight?" Lorelai suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea." Luke clasped her hand in his own and led her to the door of the diner, switching off the lights behind him.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course. I love you, too."

"And Luke? I think five's perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lorelai did not hear the alarm the next morning; instead, she awoke to find Luke's lips pressed tightly against her own. She wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent him from breaking the kiss sooner than she wanted. Eventually, he pulled away. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all."

Luke walked downstairs forty-five minutes later to fix breakfast. Ellie already sat at the kitchen table when he entered the room. "It's about time, Daddy. I'm hungry."

"Sorry, honey, I was just getting ready. How about cinnamon oatmeal today?"

"Okay," Ellie agreed. Luke smiled, happy that his kids had inherited his eating habits.

"Me, too, Daddy," Will told him, climbing into a chair.

"How about I make it for everyone?"

"Make what for everyone?" Lorelai asked as she came into the kitchen. Reid toddled in front of her; when he saw his father, he immediately ran to him and wrapped his small arms as far around his calves as they would go. Taking the hint, Luke lifted him up, holding him in one arm as he searched for ingredients.

"Cinnamon oatmeal," Luke answered. Lorelai wrinkled her nose.

"Okay, that stuff looks and tastes like something I've already eaten."

"But it's good for you," Luke reminded her.

"That fact does not make me want to eat it any more."

"Fine. Then make your on breakfast."

"Poptarts it is." Lorelai poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed a pack of Poptarts from the pantry. She took a seat at the table and quickly ate her Poptarts as Luke dished up oatmeal for the rest of the family. Once the kids had all begun to eat, Luke turned to his wife.

"Lorelai, I need to get to the diner.'

"Go ahead. I'll make sure the kids get to school in one piece."

"Thanks." He kissed his kids goodbye before giving Lorelai a long, lingering kiss. HE grinned as he pulled away. "I'll see you soon."

Lorelai walked into the diner later that day waving an envelope excitedly. "It came, Luke!" she called. "Hon, it came!"

"What came?" he inquired irritably. His stove had decided it did not actually want to cook at the desired temperature that day.

"The letter from Chilton! It came!"

"Really?" Luke suddenly forgot the stove and looked over her shoulder as she opened the letter. His eyes scanned the whole paper as she read it aloud.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Danes. We are pleased to inform you that a spot has opened up at Chilton Preparatory. Due to your vigorous pursuit of your daughter's enrollment—I offered to do the principal to get her in."

"You what?"

"Don't look so horrified, Luke. It was a joke. Trust me, I don't want to be doing anyone but you."

"Keep your voice down." Luke glanced around his relatively empty diner, noticing with relief that neither Babette nor Ms. Patty were there.

"We have five kids, Luke. I don't think anyone thinks we're celibate."

"We still don't have to talk about our sex life so loudly."

"Fine. Just let me finish the letter.. –and her excellent credentials, we have accepted Rory to Chilton Preparatory. She did it Luke! She got in!"

"I know." He hugged her tightly in excitement. "When are you going to tell her?"

"Tonight at the diner. But I want to pick something up first."

"What?"

"You'll see tonight." Lorelai kissed him. "Our little girl's going to Chilton."

"I know."

"And in three short years, she'll be at Harvard."

"I know." Luke hugged her tighter. She remained in his arms for a couple minutes, relaxing as she breathed in the comforting scent of his aftershave.

"Do you have any of that oatmeal left from this morning?"

"No. Why?"

"I'm hungry, and that stuff smelled pretty good."

"I thought you hated oatmeal."

"I hate what it looks like, but if I close my eyes, I could eat it."

"Well, I'll make you some. Just wait here." Luke extracted himself from her arms and walked back into the kitchen to make the desired breakfast.

Around 2:00 that afternoon, Lorelai was checking through the bookings at the front desk when the phone rang. "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Hello, this is Ms. Jerkins, William's teacher," a pleasant female voice greeted. "There's been an incident."

"What happened? Is Will hurt?"

"No, Will's fine. I just need you to come down here."

"I'm on my way." Lorelai hung up the phone. "Michel, you're in charge of the front desk!" she called. The concierge sighed and switched places with her.

When Lorelai arrived at the school, Luke was waiting outside the principal's office pacing nervously. "What happened? Have you seen Will yet?" Lorelai asked.

"No. They won't tell me anything," Luke said as his pacing continued. Lorelai grabbed his hand to stop him; his nervous pacing only increased her anxiety. He gripped her hand tightly as they both watched the door. After a few minutes, the door opened, and the principal stepped out. She seemed exhausted but smiled anyway.

"Mr. and Mrs. Danes, if you'll step inside please." Both Luke and Lorelai nodded dumbly, unable to speak. They followed the principal into the office. with their hands still linked together. "Have a seat," the principal said, indicating two empty chairs. Luke and Lorelai sat down, glancing around the room. Ms. Jerkins sat at the side of the large desk wearing a blank expression. In the chair next to them, William was slumped over, staring glumly at his hands. "Ms. Jerkins, perhaps you'd like to explain why we're all here," the principal suggested.

"William hit another boy at recess today," Ms. Jerkins informed them.

"Will?" Lorelai asked. "But he never hits anyone."

"I know. That's what confused me. But I saw him hit this boy."

"Why?" Luke directed the question at his son. Will looked up at his father. Luke had always been able to convince his kids to tell him anything; this time was no different. Immediately, Will began to speak.

"Jamie called me stupid, so I told him my daddy said you shouldn't call anyone names. Then he told me his daddy said my daddy was stupid for not using a condom more. So I hit him. What's a condom, Daddy?"

Luke's ears went red. "We'll talk about that later, buddy."

"Mr. and Mrs. Danes, we cannot condone hitting no matter how justified the child feels in doing it. If William ever hits another student again, we will be forced to suspend him," the principal told them.

"We understand. Thank you." Luke shook the principal's hand and stood up. Will and Lorelai followed him out of the office, but as soon as they were out in the hallway, Will bounced ahead, clearly not bothered by his stint in the principal's office. "I don't know whether to punish him or praise him," Luke told her. "Honestly, in this situation, I would've done the exact same thing he did."

"I know, hon. I wonder who the kid's father is. Obviously, he's not getting any or he wouldn't be so bitter about the whole condom issue."

"Lorelai, please, let's not discuss this."

"Why not? You have nothing to complain about, mister. You're getting plenty. Need I remind you of yesterday afternoon. . . and last night. . . and this morning."

"Aw geez, Lorelai." Lorelai laughed at his discomfort.

"You wanna explain condoms to him or should I?" she questioned.

"Don't you think he's a little young?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should start the Trojan man jokes early. 'Cause if he's anything like his day, he'll need plenty of condoms soon enough."

"He's six, Lorelai."

"Fine. But what about Ellie? She's nine. That's about the age when we told Emma and Rory about the birds and the bees."

"We'll talk about this later."

Since it was Caesar's night to close, the Danes family ate dinner at home. When Luke came home at 6:00, Lorelai called Rory into the kitchen. "Rory, come here. Your father and I have a surprise for you!"

In no time, Rory was standing beside her mother expectantly. "What is it?"

"Here." Lorelai handed Rory a gift bag, and Rory pulled a plaid skirt from inside.

"I'm going to be in a Britney Spears video?" Rory wondered.

"No, you're going to Chilton," Lorelai revealed, unable to keep it to herself any longer. Rory's eyes widened in excitement.

"Really? When do I start? Did you get a new supply list? How about a list of books I should read or assignments I need to complete? I mean, I'm sure I'm already behind, so I'll have to spend my weekend catching up, and-"

"Rory, breathe," Lorelai commanded. "You don't have to do everything right this second. Just calm down and let the fact that you are now a private school girl soak in." Rory nodded and looked back at the skirt, still wearing a wide grin.

"I'm going to Chilton," she breathed, loving the sound of the words as they came out of her mouth. "I'm going to Chilton."

"Since we have so much to celebrate, I thought we'd have a celebratory dinner tonight," Luke told her. "Whatever you want."

"Thanks, Dad, you're the best!" Rory squealed, hugging him tightly.

For once, Emma started the conversation at dinner; usually, she was the quietest member of her family at mealtimes. "Dad, are you going to start jogging again in the mornings?" she wondered. "I've missed the last couple days."

"Tomorrow," Luke promised.

"Can I come, too?" Will asked.

"Of course," Luke replied.

"Da-ad," Emma whined. "Why do you have to let him come? He's so slow."

"He's six, Emma. His legs are shorter than yours. If you keep complaining, you won't be coming." Emma continued to pout; however, she pouted quietly to avoid angering her father. Ignoring this, Luke began to question his other children on the events of their day.

After dinner, the Danes family settled down to watch a movie. By the time it was over, Reid had fallen asleep curled up in his mother's lap while Will was asleep in his father's. Ellie lay against Luke, also fast asleep while Emma sat to her mother's right, semi-conscious. Rory, too, seemed to be having trouble keeping her eyes open; she would continuously nod off before realizing where she was and jerking awake again. Lorelai watched her with a smile. "I think someone needs to go to bed."

"I think five someone's need to go to bed," Luke added, looking at his kids.

Lorelai yawned widely, and he mirrored her actions. Lorelai laughed and remarked, "Make that seven someone's." She rose to her feet with Reid still sleeping soundly in her arms. Shifting him to one shoulder, she put her arm around her oldest daughter. "You're a private school girl," she whispered excitedly. "Only one more week of Stars Hollow High."

"I know. After this week, I won't have to worry about ever laying out clothes. It won't matter what other people think of you outfit because everybody will be wearing the same thing."

"You're the only teenager I know who likes the idea of a uniform."

"What can I say? I'm different."

"You most certainly are. And I love you for it."

"I love you, too, Mom."

After putting all the kids to bed, Lorelai lay in her own bed with the letter from Chilton held tightly in her hands. Her back was propped up on some pillows which lay against the headboard, and her legs lay straight out in front of her. As Lorelai read the fine print of the letter, the happiness which had filled her once she learned Rory had been accepted retreated slightly. "Luke, have you read this letter yet?" she called to her husband. He emerged from the bathroom wearing only a pair of loose cotton pants, his typical summertime pajamas.

"Most of it. Why?"

"Well, I'm guessing 'most of it' doesn't include the fine print." Lorelai held the letter in front of him and pointed to the paragraph she wanted him to read. He skimmed it quickly, and his eyes widened. Hardly daring to believe his eyes, he read it again, more carefully this time, and whistled under his breath. "That's a lot of money, Luke," Lorelai pointed out needlessly.

"It most certainly is," he agreed.

"And they want it by Monday. Not nearly enough time to pull a bank job."

"I've told you multiple times, the Explorer has no potential as a getaway vehicle."

"Then we'll just have to steal one."

"Of course. We've already robbed a bank. Why not add grand theft auto to the list, too?"

"Exactly. We'd be a regular Bonnie and Clyde."

"Which one would I be?"

"I don't know. You've always seemed more like a Clyde to me."

"Happy to hear that." They were silent for a moment as he played with a lock of her hair, twirling it around his finger in thought. "We need to think seriously about how we're going to pay for Chilton, though."

"I know, I know, I know. Sometimes I really hate money."

"I don't hate the money necessarily. I just hate the lack of it." Luke thought for a few seconds. "What about the college fund? There's enough money in that."

"Maybe for the first payment. But that money's supposed to be for college for our kids. We don't want to blow it all while Rory's still in high school. Besides, what happens once we have to pay the tuition for the second semester? That money won't last forever."

"I could finally turn that spare building next to the diner into apartments like I keep saying I'll do. We could use the income from those apartments to pay for Chilton."

"I can't ask you to do that. Maybe we could use the inn money."

"No way! You and Sookie have always wanted to open your own inn, and you need that money to do that. I'm not letting you give up on your dream."

"We wouldn't have to give it up completely. We'd just postpone fulfilling it."

"You might as well just say you're giving up. Look, there has to be a way of paying for Chilton that doesn't involve emptying our bank account."

Lorelai grimaced as an idea hit her. "I have a plan, but you probably won't like it," she told Luke. "However, it would take care of our money problem."

The following afternoon found Lorelai staring up a winding driveway at a large stone house. A cast iron gate blocked the entrance to the driveway, augmenting the house's resemblance to the old mansions seen in horror movies. Lorelai had had enough experience in the house to know that it was sometimes very horrific. She had thought she would never visit it voluntarily; however, she now stood at the end of the driveway without ever having been invited. _'This is for Rory,' _she reminded herself as she began the seemingly interminable trek up the driveway. The front porch was flanked on either side by two trees which appeared to discourage any visitors from stepping onto the porch. _'For Rory,' _Lorelai repeated to herself, stepping onto the uninviting porch and raising her hand to knock. She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she was ready to feed herself to the lions. But she wanted Rory to be happy, so she steeled herself and knocked.

A maid answered the door. Lorelai did not recognize her, but she did not expect to. Emily Gilmore changed maids on a weekly basis, and Lorelai had not visited since Easter. "Can I help you?" the maid asked.

"I'm here to see Emily Gilmore."

"May I ask your name, ma'am?"

"I'm her daughter."

"I was unaware Mrs. Gilmore had a daughter."

"Not surprising. Most people are." Before either one could continue the conversation, Emily herself walked into the room. Her shoulder-length hair was a grayish brown color suitable for her age. Her face showed no signs of wrinkles (a condition Lorelai suspected was not natural), and her penetrating blue eyes glared at Lorelai suspiciously.

"Lorelai? What are you doing here? It's not Christmas yet, is it?"

"Hello, Mom. Nice to see you, too."

"I'm sorry if you think I was rude, Lorelai, but it seems as if we only see you and your family on holidays. How is everyone?"

"They're fine, Mom."

"And Duke? Does he still work at that diner?" Lorelai could hear the contempt in her voice as she pronounced the word "diner." To Emily Gilmore, Luke's choice of profession was as undesirable as being a janitor.

"Well, what brings you here on a day when the banks are open?"

"I just have a. . . small favor to ask you, Mom." As Lorelai was about to continue, her father walked into the room. At 6'2", he seemed rather imposing to most people, including Lorelai. Unlike Emily, he did not attempt to cover his graying hair, so it had long since turned entirely silver. He was wearing his usual suit and bowtie, the necessary attire for a businessman in his world.

"Lorelai! Is it Easter already?"

"No, Dad. I just came to ask a favor."

Richard's eyes narrowed. "You need money."

"No. Well, yes, but it's not for me. Rory got into Chilton."

"Chilton?" Emily asked. "That's a great school. It's just down the road from here."

"I know. The thing is, they want her registration fee and first semester's tuition by Monday."

"So you need money," Richard repeated.

"Yes. But for Rory. Not me. And it will just be a loan. We'll pay you back."

"Doesn't this Larry guy make enough to support his family?" Emily wondered.

"_Luke _and I would prefer not to empty our savings."

"I'll get the checkbook," Richard announced.

"Wait." Emily held up a hand. "On one condition. I want a dinner."

"I'm sure that can be arranged. Luke's a great cook."

"No, I want a dinner with you and your family every Friday night."

"What?"

"I rarely ever see my own daughter or grandkids. So I want you to come to this house every Friday night for dinner. That's my condition."

"And if we don't come?"

"Then you don't get your money. If you show up Friday, you'll leave here with a check. If not, you'll have to find some other way to get money."

"Okay, Mom." Lorelai stood up.

"Nice to see you again, Lorelai,"

"You, too, Mom. Goodbye." As Lorelai left, a fierce war raged in her head. Spending every Friday night with her parents was akin to being drawn and quartered in Lorelai's opinion. Lorelai and Emily were polar opposites; they had not agreed on anything since Lorelai first began talking and refused to wear the dress her mother had picked out for her. On the other hand, Lorelai wanted Rory to have the best education possible, and Chilton provided her with that opportunity. She shook her head with a sigh. She needed to talk to Luke.

Lorelai stopped by Stars Hollow Elementary to pick up Will and Ellie on her way home. "How was today?" she asked as they climbed in the Explorer.

"I had to apologize to Jamie. But I had my fingers crossed the whole time!" Will announced proudly. Lorelai checked the mirror to make sure the kids were buckled before turning the key in the ignition. She smiled. Sometimes, Will acted just like her.

"Good for you. I've always thought making people apologize is stupid. If you don't mean it, it's not an apology."

"You shouldn't say that, Mommy. It's a bad word. Ms. Jerkins said so."

"What word?"

"Stupid. It's just like damn or shit or-"

"Will! Where did you hear those words?" Lorelai decided it would be wise to cut him off before he continued any further.

"From you and Daddy. And Mulder and Scully."

"Will, I told you no more X-files! Remember that time you couldn't sleep for a week because you thought the stretchy guy was going to crawl through your window and eat your liver? We had to cover up the slit under your door and your air vent."

"Duh! His fingers can fit through _anything. _But it's okay now. Daddy 'splained to me that all monsters are just made up."

"That's great, but you still shouldn't be repeating words you hear on that show, especially if you know they're bad. You don't want me to wash your mouth out with soap, do you? Because that's what happens to little boys who say bad words."

"Eww! Soap's gross!"

"Exactly. So watch your mouth."

"But you and Daddy say bad words all the time."

"We're older. We're allowed to." Lorelai and Luke had tried not to cuss around their kids, but they were prone to slip up quite often.

"I won the spelling bee," Ellie announced proudly, tired of the attention her brother was receiving. "I was the only one who could spell handkerchief. H-A-N-D-K-E-R-C-H-I-E-F. It's actually really easy once you know there's a hand in it."

"That's great!" Lorelai enthused. "Where'd you learn how to spell so well?" Lorelai was not sure if she could spell handkerchief. That's what word processors were for.

"Rory taught me."

"Of course." Rory was always eager to teach her younger siblings things she had learned in school. With some help from her parents, she had taught all her siblings to read when they were three, using mostly lessons she herself designed. As she grew older, she continued to give them lessons in every imaginable subject; Ellie and Will eagerly attended these lessons, but Emma was often too wrapped up in sports to care. Still, Lorelai was proud to say that all of her kids led their class.

"Yeah, and there's a district-wide spelling bee three weeks from now that I got to go to. And if I win that, I go to a state-wide one!"

"Wow. That would be neat."

"Yeah. I've got to get Rory to help me study."

Lorelai laughed at her daughter's excitement. "You do that, hon. Now, I have to finish up some stuff at the inn. Want to come to work with Mommy?"

"Could I help Sookie in the kitchen?" Will asked.

"You'll have to ask her." Lorelai pulled into a parking space at the inn and helped her rambunctious children out of the car. As they walked into the inn, Michel spotted the trio and immediately objected to their presence.

"I was not aware that this was a daycare, Lorelai," he told her.

"Michel, it's just Ellie and Will."

"What about the demon child? The blond one."

"Reid's with Luke today."

"Michel!" Ellie, who had just spotted the concierge, wrapped her arms around him.

"What is it doing, Lorelai?" Michel asked.

"She's just giving you a hug, Michel," Lorelai assured him.

"Well, get it off." As he said this, Ellie let go.

"Michel, play with me!" she entreated.

"I am not a babysitter," Michel grumbled.

"Give him the puppy dog eyes," Lorelai suggested softly. Ellie immediately let her bottom lip jut out and opened her eyes wider. Michel scoffed.

"That will not work," he said firmly.

"Michel, just watch her for a couple minutes while I take Will to see Sookie." Before Michel could object again, Lorelai turned and left. Ellie immediately grabbed Michel's hand and began to drag him toward the inn's collection of board games. Lorelai could hear him muttering words in French that she hoped Ellie would not repeat later. At least, not around anyone who spoke French.

Sookie was bustling around the kitchen as usual when Lorelai walked in carrying Will. "Oh good, you're here! Taste this." Sookie shoved a forkful of something into Lorelai's mouth. Lorelai chewed carefully and swallowed.

"Sookie, I told you to give up on the porkchops."

"But I'm so close!" she whined.

"You cook plenty of other things better than Luke. Just focus on that."

"So you're saying his porkchops are better than mine?"

Lorelai bit her lip to keep from making a sexual comment which was on the tip of her tongue. "No, hon, yours are just. . . different."

"Ooh! Maybe you could ask Luke what he puts in him."

"I tried. He won't tell me."

"Even when you use your. . . feminine powers of persuasion."

"Sookie, as your best friend, I beg you to please give up this porkchop frenzy."

"I guess." Sookie looked up at her and noticed William for the first time. "Do I get a helper today?" she wondered.

"If you'll have him."

"Of course I'll have him. Come here, buddy. You can help stir this sauce." Will happily slid down from his mother's arms and followed Sookie to the stove.

An hour later, Lorelai sat at the desk sifting through the inn's financial records. Michel had left to go home after only fifteen minutes of Scrabble, so Ellie was perched on a stool beside her mother reading through a book entitled _Commonly Misspelled Words in the English Language_. The phone rang and Ellie immediately reached for it. "Independence Inn. How may I help you?" she greeted. She was silent for a minute before holding the phone out to her mother. "It's Daddy. He wants to talk to you." Puzzled, Lorelai took the phone as Ellie went back to her book.

"Hey hon. What's up?" Lorelai questioned.

"I see you're breaking child labor laws again," Luke quipped.

"Yes, well, if anyone with a badge comes for me, just tell them I moved."

"I'll see what I can do. How's work been?"

"Good. Sookie's still trying to figure out what you put in your porkchops. She asked me if I thought your porkcops were better than hers."

Luke groaned. "Please tell me you made no reference to any part of my anatomy in response to that."

Lorelai giggled. "You'll be happy to know I held my tongue. Though I could have mentioned your large-"

"Lorelai, please!" Luke looked nervously around the diner as if someone sitting there could hear Lorelai's end of the conversation.

"Lighten up, Luke. You were perfectly fine with this last week!"

"I was not perfectly fine with it! You shanghai'd me."

"And you enjoyed it."

"No, I didn't."

"Only because Kirk overheard. I'm pretty sure you enjoyed it up until that point."

"Maybe I did. But our daughter is sitting right there with you, and we are not having phone. . . _that _with her there."

"Sex isn't a bad word, Luke."

"It is in this town where as soon as I say it, everybody starts listening to my conversation."

Lorelai turned her back to Ellie and said in a low, suggestive voice, "You know, I could always ask Ellie to leave for a bit. We never really did finish up last week's conversation because of Kirk."

"I'm hanging up now."

"No, wait, Luke! I'm sorry. No more comments, I promise. What did you call about?"

"The diner's pretty swamped right now. I was just wondering if you could pick up Emma today."

"No problem. Is Rory with you?"

"Unless she's invisible, she's not here either. I wouldn't worry though. She's probably off reading somewhere. You know how she is with her books."

"Maybe she's reading something by Wells."

"Or Ellison. It's really confusing to have two books with the same title. Isn't that against copyright laws or something?"

"I really don't know. I think one of them has a the or something. Anyway, I have to go. Love you."

"Love you, too. And Luke? Imagine my hands traveling-"

"Goodbye, Lorelai." Lorelai heard the click of the phone as he hung up. As she placed the phone back in its cradle, Ellie held her book out to Lorelai.

"Quiz me, Mom!" she begged. Shaking her head, Lorelai took the book from Ellie. Despite her assurance to Luke, Lorelai was worried about Rory. Rory always went straight to either the diner or the inn after school It was not like her to deviate from her normal schedule, yet she had. Lorelai could not help but wonder if something had happened to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Lorelai picked up Emma after practice and headed straight for the diner, arriving there just after 6:00. Lorelai was relieved to see Rory behind the counter at the cash register. Until the relief washed over her, Lorelai had not realized just how worried she had been. As she passed the counter, Lorelai asked, "Where were you today, Sweets?"

"I just got. . . caught up with a book I was reading. Sorry."

"No problem. I figured that was what happened." Lorelai grabbed her apron and sent Luke back to the kitchen before beginning her waitressing duties.

When they finally sat down to dinner, it was nearing 8:00. "And you complained about me breaking child labor laws," Lorelai told Luke.

"You guys wanted to work," he said with a shrug.

"Daddy, guess what happened today!" Ellie exclaimed, no longer able to keep her good news a secret. As she proceeded to tell her father all about the spelling bee, Lorelai listened with a half smile. Looking over at Rory, Lorelai noticed her oldest daughter seemed unusually gloomy, stabbing at the food on her plate with her fork.

"Something wrong, Rory?" she inquired.

"No, nothing. I just. . . I don't think I want to go to Chilton anymore."

Luke's head turned to his oldest daughter, and his eyebrows shot up. Lorelai wore a look of equal surprise. "Any reason why?" she asked her oldest daughter.

"It's just a really long bus ride, and it must be really expensive. And I'd have to leave Lane behind and wear those stupid uniforms."

"I thought you loved the uniforms," Luke remembered.

"Dad, no one looks good in a plaid skirt. I'm no exception."

"Rory, you said it yourself. Chilton's a great school, and it's a step in the right direction for Harvard," Lorelai reminded her.

"I can still go to Harvard without changing schools. I don't want to go the Chilton!"

"We'll talk about this later," Luke said. Rory rounded on him.

"I don't want to talk about this later! I'm not going! End of story!"

"Rory," Lorelai began.

"Geez, Mom, just let me make my own decisions for once without having to defend them to you!" After Rory shouted her final statement, she stormed out of the diner. Luke moved to follow her, but Lorelai held him back.

"Let her go. She needs to cool down a bit. Then we can talk to her."

When Lorelai and Luke finally arrived home after closing time, they put the boys to bed before attempting to talk to Rory. As the oldest, she was the only sibling who had her own room; currently, the door to that room was closed and locked. Sighing, Lorelai knocked. "Go away!" Rory called.

"Rory, we need to talk," Lorelai told her.

"No, we don't."

Luke looked at Lorelai who nodded. "Rory, your mother and I have talked. We've always let you make your own decisions in the past, but we think you'll regret not going to Chilton. So, Monday morning you will be on your way with us to Hartford whether you want to be or not. Is that clear?"

"Dad, that's not fair!"

"I didn't ask if it was fair. I asked if it was clear."

"Yes, Dad."

"Good. Goodnight, Rory. I love you," Luke told her.

"Me, too," Lorelai added. Rory gave no response, but neither one expected one, so they went upstairs without another word. The door to Emma and Ellie's room was open, so Luke poked his head in. The décor of the room clearly indicated the girls' distinct personalities. Emma's side was covered in posters of different sports teams, and her bed spread was navy blue. Clothes, shoes, and various items of sporting equipment littered the floor. In contrast, Ellie's side was neat and tidy. A large dollhouse that had once belonged to Lorelai sat in the corner next to her neatly arranged stuffed animal collection. The watercolor pictures on the walls depicted, flowers, rainbows, and other scenes of nature. She lay on top of her pink bedspread which was pulled neatly over he bed, reading her spelling book. Emma lay on her stomach on top of her wrinkled bed clothes, flipping through a sports magazine with her feet in the air, ankles crossed. She looked back at her father when she heard the door open.

"Forty-five minutes," he reminded them.

"We know. Goodnight, Dad," Emma told him.

"Night. Love you guys."

"Love you, too, Dad," they chorused before turning back to their reading. He shut the door as he left, turning to see Lorelai emerging from the boys' room across the hall.

"They're still out," she whispered.

"Good. These two are reading. I reminded them of bedtime."

"Okay. Let me just say goodnight real quick, and I'll join you in the bedroom."

When Lorelai entered the bedroom, Luke was removing his shoes. He tossed them to the side and lay back on the bed. "God, I'm tired. The diner was unusually busy today. And Kirk was in six times. I was about ready to punch him."

"You should have done it. That would've been amusing."

"I settled for just kicking him out instead. I'm les likely to get sued that way."

"Good plan." Lorelai sat on the opposite side of the bed form him and laid back so that her head was beside his. "This whole Rory thing today felt weird."

"We've never had to punish her before."

"I know. She was always an angel child."

"Maybe those rebellious teenage years are finally starting."

"God forbid." Lorelai turned on her side so that she was facing him. "We did the right thing tonight, didn't we?" she questioned.

"Of course. We did what was best for Rory."

"Good." She gave him a quick kiss before pushing herself to her feet. She entered the bathroom to finish preparing for bed, and Luke followed. After they had both dressed in their pajamas, they crawled back into bed to read for a bit before sleeping. Mustering all her courage, Lorelai decided to broach the topic she had been avoiding all day. "So, I visited my parents today."

Luke inhaled sharply. "And?"

"And they'll give us the loan, interest free, on one condition."

Luke groaned. "I knew it."

"It's not as bad as you think. Actually, I expected a lot worse. All they want is for us to have dinner with them. . . every Friday."

"Until?"

"They weren't very specific about that."

Luke groaned. "Your parents hate me, Lorelai."

"I'm not exactly top of their list either."

"But you're family."

"So are you."

"Not in their eyes," he said bitterly.

"It'll be fine. We'll go, have loads of alcohol to numb the pain of Emily's hurtful comments, eat dinner as quickly as possible, then leave."

"Who's supposed to drive if we have loads of alcohol?"

"Rory."

"Of course. I guess I'll tell Caesar to close Friday. After all, this is for Rory."

"For Rory."

Friday night found the Danes family standing on the same porch Lorelai had stood on two days before. Reid, Luke, and Will all wore slacks and a button-down, an outfit all three grumbled continuously about. Luke held Reid and his diaper bag; the small boy was already half-asleep. Will clutched his mother's legs for protection, as if afraid the giant front doors might suddenly come to life and attack him. Rory and Emma were both pouting, Emma because Lorelai had forced her to trade her usual jeans and t-shirt for slacks and a blouse, and Rory because she was still angry with her parents for forcing her to go to Chilton. Even Ellie was more subdued than normal; she stood beside her father regarding the bushes apprehensively. "Are you going to ring the doorbell, Lorelai?" Luke inquired irritably. He hated being around Lorelai's parents, for he consistently felt out of place in their world. He was born and raised in a small town, and the business elite of Hartford were, in his opinion, too snobby to form a friendship with. It seemed that each time Luke talked to Richard Gilmore, his father-in-law had a new person for Luke to contact about franchising his diner. Luke insisted that he did not want to franchise his diner, that he was perfectly happy with just a diner where he could oversee everything and participate in the day-to-day tasks. But Richard was persistent.

"I can't move my arms!" Lorelai complained dramatically.

"For Christ's sake!" Luke's sudden exclamation awoke Reid fully, and he began to cry. Deftly, Luke switched his son to one shoulder and rang the doorbell before attempting to comfort Reid. Luke's hand rubbed circles on Reid's back soothingly as he whispered to the small boy. As Reid began to quiet down, the maid opened the front door, and his volume increased again. The maid, who was, astonishingly enough, the same maid who had greeted Lorelai on Wednesday, looked at the seven people before her curiously.

"We're here for dinner," Lorelai explained, raising her voice slightly to be heard over Reid's wails. "Mrs. Gilmore is expecting us."

"Come in. Can I take your coats?" The maid ushered them into the hall, and Lorelai and Emma, the only two who had worn coats, shrugged out of them. Luke was still trying to calm his son whose cries echoed around the spacious foyer.

"Want to play airplane?" Luke asked, holding Reid so that he was parallel to the floor with his stomach downward. Making noises like an airplane, Luke helped Reid to "fly" around the foyer. Gradually, Reid's cries turned to shrieks of laughter.

"Anetta, what is that awful ruckus?" a stern voice asked suddenly. Seven faces turned toward the large, open arch which led to the living room. Emily Gilmore had just appeared, looking at the scene before her with obvious distaste. "Oh. Good to see you again, Lorelai," Emily said shortly.

"You, too, Mom," Lorelai responded. Luke lifted Reid back to his shoulder, and the boy buried his blond head against his father. Ellie gravitated toward Luke who put his free arm around her; Will already hugged his mother's legs tightly. Rory still stood with her arms crossed while Emma regarded her grandmother with a cool, appraising look that Lorelai recognized all too well. Leaning over, Lorelai whispered, "Be nice," in her second daughter's ear. Emma scowled.

"Come on into the living room," Emily told them, gesturing to the door.

"Tell me why we're here again," Emma whispered to Lorelai.

"Because they're your grandparents, and we should see them more than on holidays."

"Bullshit."

"Language, Emma."

"Would you like anything to drink?" Emily offered, ending Lorelai and Emma's whispered conversation. Lorelai looked at Luke who nodded.

"I'll have a gin martini," Lorelai responded.

"Just water," Luke said. He took a seat on the couch with Reid still in his arms. Ellie sat on one side and Lorelai on the other. Emma took the seat next to Lorelai, and Will joined Rory on the couch across form their parents.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked. "I assure you, I have everything. Whiskey, liquor, rum. I might even be able to find a beer or two." Emily sneered at the word beer/

"Honestly, Mrs. Gilmore, water's fine. I'm driving tonight."

"That's very responsible of you," Emily remarked.

"Well, Luke is Mr. Responsibility," Lorelai added. Luke gave her a silencing glance.

"Kids, what would you like to drink?" Emily asked.

"Coke!" Will shouted excitedly.

"No way," Luke argued. "No caffeine so close to bedtime."

"But Da-ad!"

"No, Will!"

"Can I have juice then?"

"If your grandmother has any."

"Grandma, can I have juice?"

"Certainly, William," Emily answered, calling the maid in.

Soon, all the kids had their drinks—milk for Ellie, juice for the boys, water for Emma, and soda for Rory. A silence fell over the group, broken only by the occasionally as Reid slurped juice from his sippie cup. Heavy footsteps announced Richard's approach; the kids all looked toward the doorway when he appeared. Reid stopped slurping and sank farther back against his father. Richard surveyed the group briefly before remarking, "There's more of them than I remember. How many kids do you have again, Lorelai?"

"Five, Dad. Just like Easter," Lorelai answered with an eye roll.

"Right. Five." Richard glanced around the room again, and his eyes came to rest on Luke who still held Reid in his lap. "I'm sure Anetta will happily take him off your hands and put him to bed, Luke," Richard offered.

"It's fine, Richard," Luke assured him. Unlike Emily, Richard had told Luke to call him by his first name. Emily still delighted in hearing Luke refer to her as "Mrs. Gilmore," for it gave her the sense of superiority she felt she deserved. "I'd prefer to keep Reid with me. I'm sure he'd rather eat dinner with his family than be in a room by himself. Right, buddy?" Reid nodded, his eyes wide. The sippie cup was back in his mouth. Emily watched with raised eyebrows.

"Won't he spill that?" Emily asked, indicating the cup.

"Don't worry about your precious carpet or furniture, Mom," Lorelai told her. "That cup's spill-proof." Lorelai found a couple toy cars in the diaper bag and handed them to Will to distract him before taking a large sip of her martini. She had a feeling it would be a long night.

"That's a clever invention," Emily remarked.

"We're all in awe of the creator's brilliance," Lorelai said sarcastically.

"No need to be smart, Lorelai," Emily scolded. Lorelai sighed.

"Sorry, Mom. Won't happen again."

"So, Rory, I hear you're going to Chilton," Emily commented, smoothly changing the subject. Rory glanced at her mother who had turned her attention to Will.

"Yes," Rory answered guardedly.

"That's a fine school Congratulations!" Emily told her.

"Thanks, Grandma."

"I believe this calls for a toast. What do you think, Richard?"

"It most certainly does. To Rory." He held his glass out, and Emily and Rory mirrored his actions. Emily turned to the rest of the family. Lorelai and Emma had slid off the couch to play with Will while Luke was discussing an interesting word Ellie had learned with her.

"Are you not going to join in?" Emily questioned sharply.

"Right." Both Lorelai and Luke belatedly raised their glasses to meet the other. "To whatever," Lorelai said.

"To Rory," Emily repeated.

"Yes. To Rory," Luke agreed before taking a sip of his water.

"You know, Lorelai, it's really not polite to create your own side conversations and not join into our discussion," Emily chastised.

"Mom, I'm just trying to keep the kids entertained."

"The maid can take them."

"They won't be any more entertained if she does."

"Fine, then continue with your. . . game. Emmalyne, what have you been doing lately?"

Emma's head shot up. Her grandmother rarely addressed her; in fact, Emma often wondered if Emily even knew her name. "Not much," Emma answered carefully, refraining from mentioning her dislike of her full name because of her mother's order to be nice. "Just softball and cross country. And school. The usual, you know."

"So you're athletic then?"

"Yeah. I get it from Dad. He takes me and Will jogging most mornings, and he taught me how to play baseball. Actual baseball since he thinks it's sexist that girls are only allowed to play softball and not baseball." Emma glanced at Lorelai as she finished, silently asking if she had done well. Lorelai nodded.

"That's nice. What about you, Ellie? Do you like sport?"

"Ballet," Ellie answered, still huddled apprehensively against her father.

"Dinner is served," the maid announced, saving Ellie from further questions. Luke stood up and extended his free hand to help Lorelai to her feet. She smiled at him in thanks and lifted Reid from his arms. Finished with his juice, he had decided to stick his thumb in his mouth, instead sucking on it contentedly.

"I gotts go potty!" he announced.

"Okay, Sweets, I'll take you," Lorelai told him. Luke gave her a death glare and she responded with a coy smile. Leaning over, she whispered in his ear, "Just be a good boy, and I promise you'll get a reward later." She nipped his ear playfully.

"Mommy, I have to go, too," Will informed her.

"Okay then. Come on guys." Lorelai started to take them upstairs, but Emily's voice stopped her.

"We're just about to eat, Lorelai. Can't this wait?"

"Mom, they're two and six. Trust me when I say that it's better for everyone involved if I take them now."

"Fine, but hurry."

"I'll try, Mom." Lorelai shepherded the kids upstairs as the remainder of the family walked into the dining room. Emily and Richard, naturally, took the seats at either rend of the table while Luke took the seat next to Reid's booster seat, and the three girls took seats on the opposite side of the table from him. The maid brought out salads which Ellie began to eat until Luke stopped her with a look. Richard and Emily were adamant about not eating until everyone was seated. With a pleading look at her father, who shook his head emphatically, Ellie placed her fork back on the table, muttering under her breath.

Lorelai arrived a few minutes later with both boys. "I did number two in the big boy toilet, Daddy!" Reid announced proudly. Luke's eyebrows shot up, and Lorelai bit her lip to stifle her laughter.

"That's great, bud," Luke said with false enthusiasm as Lorelai placed Reid in his seat. She still wore a childish grin.

"What is this number two nonsense?" Richard questioned.

Lorelai could no longer control her laughter. Rory, Emma, and Ellie also began to snicker as Lorelai choked out, "Don't worry about it, Dad."

"Of course I'll worry about it!" Richard argued. "Is my grandson sick?"

"He's fine, Dad. Just let it go." The opposite side of the table had collapsed into a fit of giggles as Lorelai took the seat beside Luke. Will began to pick at his salad with his fingers, and Luke had to remind him to use silverware.

"I guess we should all start," Emily decided, and the entire family began to eat. Since all the kids had picked up Luke's eating habits, convincing them to eat a salad was not hard; even Reid ate some of his without complaint. Lorelai, however, stared glumly at the lettuce, pushing it around the plate with a fork. As Luke shifted in his seat, his knee touched Lorelai's, and a sudden inspiration hit her. Quickly, she took her left hand off the table and brought it to rest on Luke's knee, squeezing gently. He shot her a warning, "not-in-front-of-your-parents" look before returning to his salad. Ignoring the look, Lorelai moved her hand up his thigh, tickling the sensitive spot she knew so well. Luke's fork stopped halfway to her mouth, and he looked at her with a strained expression.

"Just enjoy it," she whispered to him.

"I can't while your parents are here."

"Sure you can. They can't see us." Lorelai moved her hand higher, and he put his fork down and swallowed hard, fighting his arousal. Her touch set fireworks off under her skin.

"Lorelai, please," he managed to choke out. She smiled.

"So, Luke, how is that diner of yours doing?" Richard inquired.

"It's great." Luke's voice cracked slightly as Lorelai's fingers made their way to his inner thigh. He felt himself losing control; he knew that he was fighting a losing battle against his emotions.

"Something wrong?" Emily wondered.

"No, nothing." Luke attempted to keep his voice normal and try to ignore the weight of Lorelai's hand which now rested at the waistband of his pants.

"I've been meaning to tell you, Luke, I found a banker the other day who's given out loans to a variety of other small businesses. I'm sure he'd love to talk to you."

"Great." Luke tried to sound enthusiastic.

"I'll go get his number for you. Excuse me for a minute." As Richard stood up, Lorelai's hand finally reached its destination. Luke let out a small groan which he attempted to cover up with a cough. Luke wanted to strip Lorelai's clothes off right then and there, but he restrained himself with great difficulty. Lorelai was not making it any easier for him; she began to apply a gentle pressure, moving her hand slowly. Closing his eyes, Luke tried counting to ten and imagining the least desirable people possible, but nothing seemed to work. All he could focus on was his wife and her hand on his groin. Unable to control himself any longer, he stood, hitting his knee against the table in his haste. "Excuse me, Emily, I. . . uh. . . need to go to the restroom." His breathing was a bit more ragged than normal, and desire glinted in his eyes.

"Can you not wait until we have finished eating?"

"I'm sorry, Emily, it's urgent." With that, Luke strode quickly from the room, taking deep breaths in an attempt to control himself. Lorelai watched him go with a small smirk before standing herself. "I'm going to make sure he's okay," she told her mother. Before Emily could object, Lorelai left the room and jogged up the steps two at a time. The bathroom door was closed, and she knocked. "You okay in there?"

"You know perfectly well why I'm in here, Lorelai."

"Let me in, Luke."

"That's not going to help the situation."

"Sure it will. Just open the door." Lorelai heard the lock turn, and Luke stuck his head out.

"Lorelai." His words were cut off by her lips. The desire that had been building up throughout the salad course roared to life in Luke's chest, and he opened the door farther, pulling her into the bathroom with him. Shutting the door behind them, he turned the lock and pressed her back against the door. Her hands found the button to his slacks and quickly undid it, allowing them to fall to his ankles. "Lorelai, your parents-" he started, but his sentence ended in a groan as she brought her hands to his shaft.

"We'll just have to be quiet," she told him.

"Neither one of us is very good at that."

"Then consider this practice.

Twenty minutes later, Lorelai readjusted her skirt and stared at her reflection in the mirror to ensure that she was presentable. Luke, who was in a much better frame of mind, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, kissing her neck. "Was that my reward?" he asked. Lorelai smiled and leaned back into her arms.

"Trust me, you'll get a much better reward that that if we survive tonight."

"I can't wait."

"Come on. We should probably go back down before my mom sends someone up to look for us," Lorelai told him. He nuzzled her neck a final time before pulling away. Taking his hand, Lorelai walked back down with him. When they entered the dining room, Ellie was telling her grandparents about the spelling bee. All seven heads swiveled to look at Luke and Lorelai as they took their seats, and Ellie stopped talking.

"Where were you, Lorelai?" Emily asked.

"I was just giving Luke a short tour," Lorelai lied. Emily pursed her lips in disbelief but decided to let Lorelai's story slide.

"Very well. I'll tell the maid to bring your dinner out now. I'm sorry we already started, but we did not know when you two would decide to join us," Emily said.

"That's fine, Mom."

"Here, Daddy, have some," Reid offered, holding a piece of lamb out to Luke. Luke opened his mouth, allowing the small boy to place the food on his tongue.

"Thanks, Reid, that was really good," Luke said after swallowing. Reid giggled.

"Oh, Lorelai, I've been meaning to tell you, I heard from Christopher the other day." Two forks clattered to their plates as Luke and Lorelai turned to look at Emily. Rory stared at her food, suddenly not very hungry.

"Why would you bring Christopher up, Mom?" Lorelai questioned coldly.

"I thought Rory might want to know how her father's doing."

"I do know. I see him every day." Rory hated how Emily always refused to call Luke her father as if hoping that Lorelai might suddenly forget about Luke and create the picture-perfect (in Emily's opinion, at least) life with Chris. Emily had always favored Chris over Luke simply because Chris came from the same society as her. When it came to Chris, Emily turned a blind eye to the fact that Chris had not visited in thirteen years and that his last visit had ended with him showing up drunk to convince Lorelai to run off with him. Since that time, he had had little contact with Rory, often forgetting her birthday. Luke, on the other hand, had always been there. He had helped Lorelai set up for Rory's parties even though he did not believe in birthdays. He had taught Rory how to cook and fish and read. He had taken Rory camping and then stayed up with her all night when she was afraid that a bear would eat her. He was her father no matter what biology said.

"Rory, Chris is your father, not this man," Emily said.

"That's it!" Lorelai rose from her seat. "I need to talk to you in the kitchen, Mother!"

"Lorelai, I'm eating."

"I don't care!"

"Fine. But I must point out that you are being quite rude."

"Again, don't care." Lorelai stormed off to the kitchen, followed closely by her mother. Once inside, Lorelai turned to face her mother with a look of rage on her face. "Do you honestly think you can just sit out there and insult my husband, and I won't do anything about it? I'm sick of you always looking down on Luke, Mom! Just because he didn't grow up with an unlimited supply of money does not mean that he's a bad person. I love him, Mom! Don't you get that? Luke and the kids mean the world to me. I'm sorry that it's not your idea of a family, but it's what I want."

"But Chris-"

"Screw Chris, Mom. He's not Rory's father. He's never been there. Luke has."

"If you gave him a chance-"

"He got his chance. He showed up drunk and my house, and Luke had to force him to go away. He's not ready to be a father, Mom. He wasn't then, and he isn't now."

"Maybe he could at least provide money for his daughter's schooling."

Lorelai looked as if she had been slapped in the face. "I can't believe you! You think money makes everything okay! Who needs love or commitment as long as there's money in the bank? You wanna hear something funny, Mom? We could've paid for Chilton! It would have involved using most of our savings and me postponing my dream of opening an inn with Sookie, but we could've done it. Luke even offered to build apartments in the building he owns with his own two hands so that neither I nor my daughter would have to give up our dreams! He would sacrifice anything for me, and I feel the same about him. That's love, Mom, and it has nothing to do with money." With that, Lorelai stormed out of the kitchen back into the dining room where her family sat, appearing shell-shocked. "Come on. We're going home." The kids looked to Luke, appearing slightly frightened, and he nodded and stood.

"Thank you for a nice evening, Richard. I'm sorry it had to be cut short," Luke apologized.

"That's quite all right," Richard assured him, standing to shake his hand.

"Lorelai, we are not through here!" Emily yelled, storming into the dining room.

"Yes, Mother, we are!" Lorelai collected all the things they had brought and ushered the kids out of the room. Luke followed, placing a comforting hand on the small of her back. By the time they reached the front door, Lorelai heard Richard's voice behind her.

"Lorelai!"

"Dad, I'm sorry, but I have to get out of here." She turned to face him.

"I was just going to tell you that you forgot something." Richard pulled a check from his pocket.

"Dad, I can't."

Richard pressed the check into her hand. "Just take it, Lorelai. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it." Lorelai looked up at him and smiled weakly before taking the check.

"Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome."

As they all climbed into the car, Will immediately began to complain. "I'm hungry," he whined.

"We'll stop by the diner and get something to eat, bud," Luke told him. Lorelai turned to him and smiled, placing her hand on his knee. He smiled, too.

Caesar was closing the diner when they arrived, but Luke sent him home, giving the Danes family the diner to themselves. After cooking some burgers, he served his family before sitting next to Lorelai and placing an arm around her shoulders. She moved closer to him, enjoying the comfort of her presence. Feeling unnaturally affectionate, she leaned toward her and buried his face in her hair, kissing her neck. Emma rolled her eyes. "Do you two have to do that?"

"Yes," Luke answered, still trailing kisses along Lorelai's neck and shoulders.

"But I'm eating here," Emma complained.

"By all means, go right ahead," Luke told her. His lips moved to Lorelai's ear, and she turned to capture them with her own.

"Enough is enough!" Rory exclaimed after a few minutes.

"Evidently our kids aren't happy that we love each other," Rory remarked.

"Love's great. I just wish you didn't insist on showing it constantly," Rory said.

"Fine. So, how much did you hear of that little rant tonight?" Lorelai's eyes traveled from Luke to Rory and back.

"Just snippets," Rory assured her.

"Yeah, little snippets," Luke agreed.

"So basically everything?"

"Basically yes," Luke and Rory chorused. "At least you got the check," Rory added. "Now, you won't have to mortgage the house to pay for Chilton."

"Does this mean. . ." Lorelai began.

"Can't let a perfectly good plaid skirt go to waste."


	4. Chapter 4

Ellie woke Lorelai up on Saturday morning. She jumped on the bed, bouncing up and down excitedly. "Come on, Mommy, get up! Will has to be at the field at 11:00." Groaning, Lorelai rolled over and looked at the clock which read 9:33.

"Too early for a Saturday," Lorelai complained.

"No, it's not. Come on, Mommy, please!"

"Fine, fine." Lorelai called over so her feet were dangling off the bed and rubbed sleep out of her eyes. "Where's your dad?"

"He went into the diner. He said you'd drop us all off for warm-up, and he'd be off in time to make Will's game."

"Okay, I'm getting up. But first, I must take revenge." Leaning over, Lorelai began tickling Ellie energetically. Ellie squealed and tried to scramble out of her grasp, but Lorelai was relentless.

"Stop it, Mommy!" Ellie begged breathlessly.

"If I must." Lorelai sighed as the tickling ceased and stood, lifting Ellie off the bed with her. "I'm going to go take a shower. Go make sure the rest of your siblings are up."

"Okay, Mommy." Ellie hurried from the room as Lorelai gathered some clothes and made her way to the bathroom.

Will, Reid, and Ellie were watching cartons when Lorelai reached the living room. Emma was pouring herself a bowl of cereal, and Rory was in the bathroom. Walking behind the couch, Lorelai kissed her three kids' foreheads. She was still a bit lethargic, for she had not yet had her morning coffee. Lorelai eagerly approached the coffeepot in the kitchen, hoping for a quick caffeine fix, but the pot was woefully empty. Of course, since Luke had left more than four hours previously, Lorelai had feared it would be. Deciding to make her own, Lorelai went in search of the coffee beans, finally discovering them in the bottom of the fridge. As she opened the bag, her stomach turned, and she raced for the bathroom. She made it just in time; she soon emptied her stomach of most of the dinner from the previous night. "Mom?" Rory questioned as she passed by the open bathroom door to see her mother crouched over the toilet.

"I'm fine," Lorelai assured her with a weak smile. "I think dinner at your grandparents yesterday didn't agree with me."

"But all you ate was the salad. And you didn't even eat much of that."

"Maybe this proves that healthy food isn't as good for you as you and Dad think." Lorelai leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath.

"Or maybe that burger and fries you had later at the diner is the last greasy food your stomach can take," Rory suggested.

Lorelai groaned. "Please don't say the f word."

"What f word?" Rory questioned, puzzled. "Oh, you mean food?" In response, Lorelai leaned over the toilet and vomited again. Although pale and shaking, Lorelai managed to muster a glare to shoot at Rory. "Sorry," Rory apologized sheepishly. "Want me to get Dad? He can probably help."

"No, I don't need your father here to baby me."

"Mom, there's no way you're going to be able to take the kids like that."

"I'll be fine."

"I'm telling Dad."

"He doesn't need to know."

"Of course he does. He's your husband, and I'm sure he'd want to know."

"But-"

"No buts. Do you want me to help you to your bed before I go?"

"I think I'm better off here."

"Okay. I'll be gone for a little while, so call Emma if you need anything."

"Yes, ma'am.' Lorelai leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later, she felt something cold and wet on her forehead. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw Luke kneeling in front of her wiping her brow with a washcloth. "What are you doing here?" she inquired.

"I couldn't leave my wife sick and alone, and Rory offered to watch the diner, so here I am." He left the washcloth on her forehead and filled a cup with water from the sink. Bringing it to her, he helped her drink, and she quickly drained the glass. Setting it aside, he felt her forehead and cheeks with the back of his hand. "You're hot," he observed.

"Thanks. You too." Luke shook his head. Even when sick, Lorelai turned everything into a joke. Her quirky sense of humor had given her a virtually unbreakable optimism and was one of the main reasons he fell in love with her.

"Come on. Let's get you to bed." He picked her up in his arms and carried her to their bedroom, carefully placing her on the bed.

"What about the games?" she asked.

"Rory and Caesar can handle the lunch rush, so I'll drop the kids off and go to Emma and Will's games. Rory and Lane can go to Ellie's recital and videotape it. Don't worry. We've got it covered."

"But I should help!" Lorelai started to sit up, but he pushed her back.

"You should rest. I'll check on you later. Call Babette if you need anything."

"Yes, sir!' Lorelai's eyelids were already beginning to drop as he kissed her forehead and left, flipping off the light.

As always, leaving the house was a huge ordeal. Luke insisted on not waking Lorelai which left him to attempt to put Ellie's hair in a bun. After three failed attempts, he finally decided he would just ask Ms. Patty to do it when they arrived for warm-up. Will was missing his soccer shorts which turned up in Reid's diaper bag, and Emma spent nearly twenty minutes searching for her lucky glove. By the time they left, they were still only two minutes late, however, a feat of which Luke was proud. He piled into the Explorer with his four youngest and left for Will's soccer field.

Luke felt like a bus driver as he drove around Stars Hollow to drop his kids off where they needed to be. Eventually, he made it back to the soccer field with fifteen minutes to spare before the game started. He took a seat on the home side and watched as the players ran onto the field. Will immediately sought him out, and Luke gave his son a thumbs up sign. Will's face broke into a wide grin before he joined his teammates in the huddle. Luke turned his attention to Reid who was perched on his knee. A somewhat familiar voice caused him to raise his head again. The lady from the diner sat in front of him. "Fancy meeting you here." Luke struggled to remember her name. Kaitlin? No, it was shorter. Kate? Closer. . . Kat!

"Yeah. Does your son play?"

"Yes, my six-year-old Brian. Number 82. What about you?"

"Will's number 33."

"I'm surprised we never met before."

"I guess the town's not as small as we thought."

"So, is your wife here?"

"She's at home sick."

"That's too bad." Kat's voice was full of false sympathy.

As the players took their positions, two hands suddenly covered Luke's eyes. "Guess who," a familiar voice instructed.

"Lorelai, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I feel much better after that little nap. I probably just needed some rest. Aren't you happy to see me?" In answer, Luke gave her a lengthy kiss.

"Of course I am. Are you still going to Ellie's recital?"

"I wouldn't miss it. But I've got half an hour before it starts, and it's five minutes from here." She leaned against him, and he placed an arm around her shoulders, absent-mindedly rubbing circles on her arm. They watched as Will ran after the opposing team member he was defending and cheered like good parents when he managed to steal the ball. For awhile, the ball rolled from one player to another without a goal; eventually, Lorelai pulled away from Luke. "I've got to get going. I'll see you tonight."

"See you." They exchanged a brief kiss before Lorelai stood up to leave. Luke watched her for a minute, still impressed by her beauty even after all the years he had known her (and the fact that he now knew what she ate simply made her beauty more impressive). He was lucky; he had found the perfect wife—funny, beautiful, charismatic, smart, determined, and fiercely devoted. He had a wonderful family, enough money to live comfortably, and his own business. Although not perfect, Luke's life was all he ever could have asked for and much more.

Mid-game, there was a twenty-minute break to give the players time to relax .Will waved to Luke again, smiling happily since he had scored his team's most recent goal, before joining his teammates who were sprawled across the grass. "Your son's a great player," she observed.

"He practices all the time. He's just like his mother in that way—determined."

"Where did your wife go? I thought I saw her here."

"She had to be at my daughter's ballet recital."

"Busy Saturday for you guys then?"

"It's no worse than any other day. But you adapt.

"Well, I just have Brian, but between him and my job, my life is hectic enough."

"Uh-huh." Luke had turned his attention back to the field where Will was engaged in a water war with one of his teammates. He backed up to avoid being hit and inadvertently tripped over the bench. He fell over it, landing on his head. Groaning, Luke stood up to go check on him. Will was the most accident-prone of all his kids. In fact, he had already been to Hartford General three times in his short six years—once for a broken arm and twice for stitches. Fortunately, it did not appear as if another trip to the hospital would be needed. Will was already sitting up by the time Luke reached him; although a bit dazed and sporting a new lump on the back of his head, he was otherwise unharmed. Luke sighed and shook his head. Life with his family was anything but dull.

Lorelai made it to the small stage where Ms. Patty held her dance recitals with five minutes to spare. She found Rory and Lane quickly and slid into the empty seat beside her daughter. "Hey, Mom! Feeling better?"

"Much. Sleep can work wonders."

"You sounded like my mother for a second time there," Lane commented. Mrs. Kim was over-bearing and health conscious, a strict disciplinarian who could give Emily Gilmore a run for her money. "She's always going on about how important sleep is for a growing teenage girl."

"It's important for those of us who have already grown, too." As the lights began to dim, all three fell silent and turned their attention to the stage. The first person out was not a young girl as all of them had expected; instead, a man danced out onto the stage. His brown bowl cut and rounded facial features seemed better suited to a five-year-old than someone in his mid-thirties. "Is that Kirk?" Rory questioned.

"No, it's some other grown man who takes ballet," Lorelai replied sarcastically.

"Well, it is for Stars Hollow."

"True. In any other town, we'd kick Michael Jackson there right off the stage. But we just accept it here."

"That's because it's Kirk. Although it's still disturbing." By this time, Kirk had finished his dance and plieed before extending his arms to present the other ballerinas, none of whom had lived under Reagan's administration. Lorelai clapped with the rest of the audience and immediately sought out Ellie. She was near the back, matching the moves of the dancers in front of her. Lorelai watched her with a smile, noticing how graceful she appeared. Graceful was certainly not Lorelai's strong suit; she had decided instead to live vicariously through her children.

Dinner that night was a noisy affair as each kid detailed the events of their day. Since Caesar had agreed to close, the whole family ate at home. After dinner, Emma and Ellie cleaned up while Luke and Lorelai prepared the boys for bed. William had a gash on his arm which Luke assumed he had obtained when he fell over the bench. Since it was not bleeding, Luke left it alone. Lorelai had already started shampooing Reid's hair, so Luke took the shampoo bottle from her and began to bathe their oldest son. "Daddy, why do you love me?" Will asked suddenly.

Luke stopped bathing him in surprise. He looked to his wife for help, but she simply shrugged. "It's because you're my son, and you're very special."

"But Brian's daddy doesn't love him. Is he not special?"

"I'm sure Brian's special. His dad probably just doesn't realize it," Lorelai told him.

Now turning his attention to his mother, Will questioned, "Why do you love Daddy? He's not your son."

"Yes, but your daddy is extremely special. He's kind, funny, hard-working, helpful, and a lot more. It's hard not to love him." Lorelai smiled at her husband.

"But what is love?"

"You're asking a lot of tough questions tonight. Maybe you should wait until you get your doctorate in psychology and then try to answer that," Lorelai suggested.

"Actually, I want to try and answer that. Love is the desire to stay by someone's side when they're sick. It's knowing that if you fall down, there's always someone there to pick you up. It's feeling another person's pain as if it were your own. It's knowing that you would do anything in the world for a person and understanding that they would do the same for you. It's a connection that's stronger than any other bonds out there and can never be broken."

Luke had stared straight at Lorelai the entire time he spoke, and she stared back with equal intensity. "Mushy much?" she finally asked.

Luke smiled and turned back to his son. "Does that answer your question?" William nodded and continued playing with his toys.

Monday morning, Lorelai woke to find Luke's lips on her forehead. She opened her eyes to see him standing above her dressed in boxers and an undershirt. With a groan, she glanced at the clock beside her bed. "I set the alarm for 6:30. Why didn't it go off?" she mumbled.

"I turned it off. After seeing how sick you've been the last couple days, I thought you needed your sleep." He smiled as he pulled on a pair of slacks.

"But we've got to get Rory to Chilton today."

"You'll have plenty of time. The kids have already had breakfast and are getting ready to go. Do you want me to fix you something?"

"No thanks. I'm not really that hungry."

"Okay. You can get dressed while I go check on the kids."

"Did you pick up the dry cleaning?"

"Check the closet!"

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"It's always nice to hear." With a final smile, he left. As soon as the door closed behind him, Lorelai raced to the bathroom and shuffled through the medicine cabinet until she found the anti-nausea pills. She knew she was still sick; her stomach had turned over as soon as Luke had mentioned food. However, she could not let Luke know that she was sick or he would insist that she stay home. She could not miss Rory's first day at Chilton; it was a huge step in her little girl's life, and she would not let a little nausea get in her way.

By the time Luke returned, Lorelai had changed into a gray wool skirt which reached her mid thigh and a blouse. She had applied some makeup and brushed her hair out, letting it fall freely around her head. "You look beautiful," Luke observed.

"You don't look so bad yourself." He was wearing slacks and a dress shirt with the top button undone and a tie knotted around his neck. His suit jacket hung over a chair in the corner, and he eyed it with loathing.

"I hate dressing up," he grumbled.

"For Rory, remember?" Lorelai reminded him, stepping closer to fix his shirt and tie. When she finished, she kissed him lightly on the lips, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist, deepening the kiss. She pulled back after a minute. "How long do we have?"

"Thirty minutes," he answered, glancing at the clock beside their bed.

"Is that Rory time?"

"Fifteen minutes Rory time."

"Then I guess we better make the most of that time." Their lips hungrily found each other again, and Luke quickly parted her lips with his tongue. He allowed his tongue to explore her mouth for a moment before moving his lips to the corner of her mouth and then to her jaw. His tongue traced her jawbone, sending a shiver down her spine. However, his lips did not stop there; they continued moving until they reached the base of her neck, a couple inches above the collar of her blouse. Stopping, he began to suck the skin greedily, enjoying its sweet taste and smooth texture. He used his teeth to nibble at it, and she moaned loudly, encouraging him to continue. Needing no second bidding, he increased the fervor of his attack. Lorelai's moaning continued, growing steadily louder as he sought out sensitive spots with his teeth and tongue.

Just as he reached a particularly sensitive point in the middle of her neck, they heard Rory's voice calling to them. "Come on! We're going to be late!"

"We're coming!" Lorelai called back, Babette, who had volunteered to make sure the older kids made it to school and watch Reid, already in the kitchen. As Lorelai gave her neighbor some last minute instructions, Luke joined her, and Rory practically dragged her parents out the door. "If you don't stop pulling, we're bringing the baby pictures," Lorelai warned. Rory let go of her parent's arms but continued to call to them impatiently as if the thirty second walk to the car took hours.

They reached Hartford without incident, arriving nearly half an hour early due to Rory's excessive punctuality. As Lorelai moved to open the door, she noticed something in her reflection. "Uh-oh,' she muttered quietly.

"What?" Rory asked, suddenly concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing. Your father just got a bit. . . overzealous. Hand me that coat please."

"What do you mean overzealous?" Rory questioned. Suddenly, she noticed the large mark on Lorelai's neck. "Geez, guys, can't you keep your hands off each other for two seconds?" she wondered.

"One one thousand, two one thousand," Lorelai said, holding up her hands.

"Funny, Mom."

"I thought so." Lorelai slid the coat over her arms and checked her reflection. "There. You can't even see it."

"Good. Now come on, let's go!" Rory urged.

"I'll pack the car and catch up to you," Luke told them.

"Okay." Lorelai and Rory stepped out of the car and onto the curb. "Where are we going again?" Lorelai questioned, surveying the massive buildings surrounding her.

"The Ambrose Building."

"Which one is that again?"

"The one that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings."

"That doesn't narrow it down. Excuse me!" Lorelai called to a man in his early forties who was passing by. He turned, and his face broke into a wide smile.

"Can I help you?" he offered.

"We were actually looking for the Ambrose Building," Lorelai told him.

"That's right in front of you," he said, pointing.

Lorelai looked in the direction of his finger. "Now I feel stupid."

"Don't. A lot of people get lost on their first day. It is your first day, right?"

"Yes, sir," Rory answered, ever polite.

"What grade are you in?"

"I'm a sophomore."

"So is my daughter Julia. Julia Jack."

"That's nice."

"I'll tell her to watch out for-" He broke off and looked at Rory expectantly until she supplied a name.

"Rory Danes."

"Well, Rory, I'm Ian Jack. And you are. . ." He turned his gaze to Lorelai.

"Lorelai Danes."

"It was very nice to meet you Lorelai. Hopefully, we'll run into each other again soon." He still wore his fake smile.

"You, too." As he left, Rory poked Lorelai in the ribs.

"Should I tell Dad some guy was hitting on you?"

"He was not hitting on me!" Rory narrowed her eyes, and Lorelai corrected herself. "Okay, maybe he was flirting with me a bit. But it isn't major enough for you to tell Luke. You know he'll just blow it out of proportion."

"If you think that's what's best."

"It is, trust me." Scanning the parking lot, she saw Luke striding toward her and Rory. As soon as he reached them, he began to rant. "It seems like the worst car any student has is a BMW. Every car back there guzzles gas like there's no tomorrow."

Lorelai decided to cut him off before he continued too long. "We know, ho. Why don't we just go see the Headmaster?"

The Headmaster's office reminded Lorelai of her father's study—rich, mahogany furniture with dark, "tasteful" colors. Each piece likely cost more than Lorelai's monthly paycheck, and she knew from experience that none of them were very amenable to sitting. A thin secretary sat behind the large desk in the lobby; when she looked up, Lorelai did a double take, for she appeared to be a man who had made a failed attempt to look like a woman. "That's why you don't wear make-up to bed," Lorelai whispered to her daughter who giggled. The secretary glared at them, and Rory's giggles abruptly broke off.

"Uh, I'm Rory Danes. I have an appointment with the Headmaster."

The secretary nodded curtly and picked up the phone on her desk. "Rory Danes is here," she said. After a few seconds, she hung up the phone and turned back to Rory. "He will see you now."

"Thank you," Rory said as she walked through the heavy wooden door to the Headmaster's office followed closely by her parents.

"Scary place," Lorelai remarked quietly. "Very 'off with their heads' kind of feel." They entered the office which was furnished in the same way as the outer area. The Headmaster sat behind a large desk in the center which was bordered by two chairs to the front and a sofa to the right. When Lorelai looked at the sofa, she stopped in her tracks. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't miss my granddaughter's first day at Chilton," Emily said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I wanted to let Hanlin know he had a Gilmore."

Sighing, Lorelai turned her attention to the Headmaster. "Hanlin, I presume."

"Hanlin Charleston." He held out his hand to both Luke and Lorelai before gesturing to the sofa and chairs. "Have a seat. Feel free to take off your coats." Luke gratefully took off his jacket, but Lorelai kept hers on as she sat down. "It's rather warm in here. I'm sure you'll be more comfortable without your jacket," Hanlin said.

"I'm fine, really," Lorelai assured him.

"Lorelai, just take off your jacket!" Emily commanded. Her tone left no room for argument, so Lorelai reluctantly removed the jacket, attempting to cover the hickey with her hair. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful, and both Hanlin's and Emily's eyes gravitated to her neck. Luckily, neither one commented on the mark.

"Very well, then let's just find your records," Hanlin said, sifting through some files. "Here we are. Lorelai Leigh Danes." Emily winced as he said the name Danes. "Hm, I don't recognize the name Danes. Are your parents from around here?"

"I grew up in Stars Hollow," Luke told him.

"Really? I hear that's a charming little place, especially in fall and winter."

"It does have a certain. . . charm," Lorelai said hesitantly.

"If you're into crazy people and icy roads," Luke added under his breath.

"Well, Miss Danes, this is certainly an impressive record," Hanlin remarked.

"Thank you, sir," Rory said.

"Just remember, we set very high standards here at Chilton."

"I know, sir. That's why I'm here."

"That's good to hear. Now, unless you have any more questions, you're all free to go except Rory. I need to give you some final details."

"Thank you so much,' Lorelai said, rising to her feet and shaking Hanlin's hand.

"Yes, thank you," Luke agreed.

"Nice to see you again, Hanlin. I hope you'll accept our invitation to the party in a few weeks," Emily said.

"I look forward to it," Hanlin assured her. As they left, Luke's arm moved to Lorelai's, pulling her closer. When they reached the grounds of the school, Lorelai and Luke turned toward their car, but Emily stopped them.

"Don't think you'll get away so easily, Lorelai!" she warned.

Groaning, Lorelai turned. "What, Mother?"

"What is that horrid mark on your neck?"

Lorelai looked at her incredulously for a moment before saying slowly, "It's a hickey, Mom." When Emily still looked confused, Lorelai decided to attempt to explain further. "You know, a love bite."

"Why would this 'love bite' be on your neck?"

Luke shifted self-consciously beside Lorelai as she struggled to explain. "Well, that's because. . . Luke and I got a bit carried away this morning."

"Wait, he did this to you?"

"Who else do you think would? Just let it go, Mother."

"I will not let it go!"

"Yes, you will because we're leaving. Goodbye, Mother."

"Lorelai Gilmore, you cannot just walk away from me like that."

"Watch me." As Lorelai and Luke walked away, Lorelai leaned against her husband and kissed his ear lightly. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine," he assured her. "Embarrassing but fine. Besides, it was really my fault."

"That's true," Lorelai agreed. "Maybe you should be apologizing then."

He turned so his lips were beside her ear. "I'm sorry I find you so irresistible," he whispered teasingly. Lorelai smiled. Although the town still saw him as the gruff diner man who could not say anything sweet if his life depended on it, Lorelai saw a different side of him. She had learned from fourteen years of marriage that he was one of the sweetest, most caring men she had ever known. Despite her intimate knowledge of him, however, he never failed to surprise her with comments that were completely out of character for him.

"That's good," Lorelai told him. He pulled her tighter against his side and smiled.

They stopped by their house to pick Reid up from Babette before both left for their separate jobs. It was Lorelai's turn to take Reid, so she set him up behind the front desk with some toys as she shuffled through the paperwork which had piled up there. Feeling a sudden wave of nausea, she raced to the bathroom, arriving just in time. Having eaten nothing that morning, her stomach was nearly empty, so the vomiting did not last long. After a couple minutes, she shakily rose to her feet before realizing that she had left Reid by himself and racing back to the lobby. Luckily, he had not moved from the spot where she had left him; he was still playing with his small plastic dinosaurs. Ruffling his hair, Lorelai took a few sips from the glass of water she had placed beneath the desk and felt her stomach turn again. Closing her eyes, Lorelai willed it to settle down before continuing to sort through the paperwork on the desk.

Because the inn was unusually busy, Lorelai was unable to escape to eat lunch at Luke's as she usually did. Since Caesar was coming in late that day, Luke had to handle the lunch rush himself which, combined with Lorelai's absence, made him extremely irritable. Kirk , of course, did not help matters. As usual, he came in for lunch, and Luke walked over to his table wondering if the day could be any worse.

"What do you want, Kirk?" he asked.

"How'd you ask Lorelai out?" Kirk questioned.

"What?" Luke inquired, confused at the abrupt detour in the conversation.

"Lorelai. How did you ask her out on a date?"

"Kirk, I don't have time for this. Now, just tell me what you want to eat."

"But I need your advice, Luke."

"My advice is for you to order now."

"Should I take a bold approach and-"

"Kirk! If you don't tell me what you want to eat in the next ten seconds, I'm going to take a bold approach and kick your butt out of here."

"Fine. PB&J cut into quarters diagonally like Mom does. And milk."

"Okay. It'll be out in a few minutes." He approached the next table still scribbling the order. "What can I get you?" he asked without looking up.

"You know, it's polite to look at someone when you talk to her," a familiar voice admonished. Startled, Luke looked up into the eyes of his mother-in-law.

"Mrs. Gilmore, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see what sort of establishment is supporting my grandchildren. It seems. .. nice."

"Thanks," Luke said guardedly, unsure if she was paying him a compliment.

"Well. . ." Emily quickly scanned the menu before flipping it over and sighing as she read down the items. "Do you have any recommendations?"

"Lorelai loves the burgers," he suggested.

"Anything not covered in grease?"

"How about a house salad?"

"That sounds fine. One house salad and some water."

"Coming right up."

As the lunch rush started to die down, Luke looked over to see Emily sitting in the same spot, staring out the window impatiently. "Waiting for someone, Mrs. Gilmore?" Luke asked.

"Doesn't Lorelai come here for lunch?"

"She usually does. But if the inn's very busy, she might not have time to come. The inn's only a couple miles north of here if you need to talk to her."

"I just wanted to remind her about Friday night."

"We'll be there. Anything else?""

"I also wanted to know Rory's size."

"She's a four. Well, a six in some things. Why?"

"I figured I'd get her some more clothes for school. A couple skirts and maybe a few shirts. Also, I saw a nice sweater. . ."

"Rory has plenty of clothes, Mrs. Gilmore."

"Casual clothes. But what will she wear to school?"

"She has plenty of clothes for school, too, Mrs. Gilmore. Trust me."

"Why should I trust you? You're a man and not even her father."

Luke bit his tongue as he breathed deeply to gain control of his temper. "Mrs. Gilmore, Rory might not be my daughter biologically, but she is my daughter in every way that counts. I know what size she wears and what clothes she needs. So trust me."

"At least let me buy her the sweater."

Luke sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Both Lorelai and Luke went to Hartford that afternoon to pick Rory up. As soon as she saw her parents, she ran toward them, throwing her arms around both of them. "Remind me why I wanted to torture myself again," Rory said.

"Harvard," Lorelai told her.

"Christiane Amanpour," Luke added, starting to pull away. Rory, however, responded by hugging him tighter.

"I guess asking how your day went would be a stupid question," Lorelai remarked.

"Let's just say Cindy Lauper would be proud," Rory told her.

"That bad, huh?"

"Some of the people here make Kirk look normal."

"Impossible," Luke disagreed. Reid, who rested in his father's arms, made a noise which sounded like a confirmation of his father's statement.

"Trust me, it's possible."

"Why don't you tell us all about it on the way home?" Lorelai suggested, opening the door to the Explorer and climbing in.

Lorelai had wanted to celebrate Rory's first day with a movie, but Rory begged off, claiming that she had too much catching up to do. Emma also did not accept Lorelai's invitation, preferring instead to read through her latest sports magazine, and Ellie was still studying for her spelling bee. Since Reid and Will had already gone to bed, Lorelai and Luke settled down to watch the movie by themselves. Luke stretched out across the couch on his side as Lorelai started the movie; when the credits finally began, Lorelai lay down sideways in front of him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her body flush against his own. Feeling the warmth of his body heat surrounding her, Lorelai relaxed and placed her hands over his. As the movie started, Luke kissed the back of her neck and whispered, "Your mother stopped by the diner today."

"I'm sorry. What did she want?"

"She wanted to know Rory's size so she could get her clothes for Chilton."

"She has plenty of clothes."

"That's what I said, but she accused me of knowing nothing since I'm not Rory's real father." Hearing the bitterness in his voice, Lorelai turned to face him.

"Want me to take care of her for you?" she asked jokingly.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle her. Thanks for the offer though."

"Anytime." Lorelai pressed her lips gently against his for a moment before pulling back and staring directly into his eyes. "You're the best dad Rory could have asked for," she assured him.

"Thanks." He kissed her again, longer this time.

"Mmh. And a great kisser, too." Their lips locked once more until Lorelai pulled back slowly and turned to face the television.

Since Lorelai had intended to watch the movie with Rory, she had picked out a romantic comedy, and Luke soon grew bored. First, he began to kiss behind her ear, biting the lobe gently. Lorelai squirmed when he reached a ticklish spot directly below her ear, and he increased his attentions to that area." Luke! I'm trying to watch," she said between giggles.

"I'm not stopping you." He moved his mouth lower, and she struggled to escape his grasp. However, he simply used his arm to hold her close as his merciless teasing continued. His tongue came out, flitting over her skin, and she shivered at the contact. As he began to gently suck a spot on her neck, Lorelai stopped him.

"Remember how much trouble that last hickey caused," she reminded him.

"Right." He moved on, bringing his lips to her shoulder blade and tracing it with his tongue. After a few minutes, he slowly began to move back up to where he had started, and Lorelai moaned in pleasure. Feeling something press into her lower back, she pulled away from him slightly.

"Let's just watch the movie and not start what we can't finish," she suggested.

"If we must," he agreed reluctantly.

"The following night, Lorelai had a business class in Hartford, so Luke was watching the kids by himself. Since it was Caesar's night to close, Luke left the diner as soon as the dinner rush died down a bit, arriving home a mere five minutes before Lorelai had to leave. "Perfect timing" she told him, grabbing her jacket and kissing him goodbye. "I dropped Will off at his friend's house. His friend's mother should be bringing him home in a couple hours. Ellie wants someone to quiz her on her spelling words, and Rory's locked herself in her room to finish up the mountain of work she has for Chilton. Make sure she eats."

"Will do. What about the other two?"

"Emma's out back with Reid teaching him to catch a baseball. It's cute."

"I'm sure. I'll see you in about three hours. Love you."

"I love you, too. Bye." With a final kiss, she left, and Luke turned to begin fixing dinner. Ellie joined him after a minute carrying the huge book of spelling words that seemed to have been attached to her for the past few days. She crawled into a chair at the table.

"Could you quiz me, Daddy? Please!" she implored.

"Sure. Hand me the book." He lay the book open on the counter in front of him and began to read her words as he chopped vegetables. After a couple minutes, he heard the back door slam open and a large wail sounded. Looking up, he saw Emma carrying a crying Reid inside.

"He ran after the ball and tripped. I think he's bleeding," Emma explained.

"Finish chopping those vegetables and toss them in that pot," Luke instructed, pointing. Emma set Reid in a nearby chair before taking her father's place at the cutting board. After he wiped his hands, Luke knelt in front of his son. "Where does it hurt?" he questioned. Reid pointed to his right knee, and Luke saw a large gash across it. Blood dripped down the side of his leg, staining his white sock. Reid held out his hands, palms facing upward, and Luke saw that they, too, were bleeding. Small bits of gravel were embedded in the flesh from his fall. "You cut yourself up pretty badly, didn't you, bud? Come on. Let's go make it better." Luke lifted him up, and Reid snuggled against his father, resting his head on Luke's shoulder. Luke carried him to the bathroom and set him on the counter before beginning to dig through the medicine cabinet. Eventually, he found a box of Scooby-Doo Band-Aids and antibiotic cream. After cleaning the wounds, Luke carefully covered them with Band-Aids. Reid's crying had increased in volume when Luke began to pick the gravel from his hands, but he settled down once Luke had finished. "There. Better?"

"You have to kiss it, Daddy!" Reid told him.

"Oh, right." Luke gently kissed his son's knee and palms. He marveled at how much had changed in his life. He never would have expected to turn into a family guy who comforted his crying son and kissed his wounds. Yet a family guy was exactly what he had become, and Luke would not have it any other way.

When they reentered the kitchen, Emma was stirring the dinner. She looked up at her father. "Five minutes," she announced. Luke smiled and set Reid in a chair.

"It smells good," he said to his daughter.

"I just followed instructions."

"That's more than some people can do."

"Mom?"

"I never said that."

"But you were thinking that."

"Don't tell her." Father and daughter shared a knowing smile, but the silence was soon broken by the oven timer. Walking over, Luke took out the bread which had finished warming and set it on the counter. Emma reached for a slice, but he slapped her hand away. "Wait until dinner," he admonished.

"Fine." She turned back to the stove and continued stirring.

"Ellie, can you and your brother set the table?" Luke asked as he walked to Rory's room. Ellie slid out of her seat and grabbed the necessary silverware, and Luke knocked on his oldest daughter's door. "Rory, dinner time!"

"Can I eat in here? I still have a lot of work to do."

"You need a break, sweetheart. It'll help you focus."

"Okay," Rory relented, emerging from he room.

"That's my girl," Luke said with a smile.

After dinner, Emma offered to help Luke with the dishes, and he immediately became suspicious. "What do you want?" he inquired.

"Why do you assume I want something?" Emma asked.

"Because I know you."

"It's not anything bad. I was just wondering if you could practice with me for a little bit," Emma said hopefully.

"Sure."

"But what about me? You said you'd quiz me!" Ellie whined.

"Why don't we go outside? I can help Emma practice while I quiz you," Luke offered.

"But Dad-" they both began.

"Or Reid and I can go play together in his room," Luke told them.

"Okay. You can help us both," Emma agreed.

"Thought so." Luke dried his hands and picked up Reid before following them into the backyard.

After about an hour, Luke heard a car pull up, figuring that it was Will's friend's mother dropping him off, Luke dropped the ball he was holing with a promise to return soon. He walked around to the front in time to see Will emerge from the back seat of a silver van. After giving his father a quick hug, Will asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"They're out back," Luke told him. Before Luke could ask about his day, Will had already begun to run toward the back. Shaking his head, Luke turned back to the woman in front of him. "Thanks for bringing him home," he told her. As he looked up, his eyes widened slightly in recognition.

"It was no problem," Kat assured him. "Besides, it's nice to see you again."

"Yeah. You, too," Luke said politely. "So, I guess I'll see you around."

"I guess." He started to turn, but she stopped him. "Luke?"

"Yes." Without warning, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.


	5. Chapter 5

Luke pulled back almost immediately. "What the hell was that?" he questioned.

"God, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," Kat apologized, flustered. "You're just so handsome. . . and sweet. . . and perfect. . . And I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. It was stupid."

"You're damn right it was stupid. Did you forget about this?" He pointed to his ring.

"I know, I know. Can we just forget it ever happened?"

"I have to tell my wife."

"Why? It can stay between us."

Luke shook his head. "We don't keep secrets from each other."

"Well, you could-"

"Look, Kat, just leave and let me sort this out for myself."

"Luke, I'm sorry."

"Just go!" Luke put a hand to his head and began to massage his temple as he thought. He knew he had to tell Lorelai, but he was dreading that conversation. With a sigh, he turned and walked toward the backyard. Hearing shouts of laughter from his children, he could not suppress a smile. Worrying about the upcoming conversation would not help him at all.

When Lorelai came home, Luke was in Will and Reid's room finishing a story. She leaned against the door frame and watched him for a minute, enjoying the calm domestic scene before her. Luke looked up, catching her eye, and smiled. He finished the story and turned off the light on their nightstand. Lorelai joined him, and they both kissed the boys goodnight and left the room. "Why don't you go take a shower while I check on the rest of our offspring," Lorelai suggested.

"Are you saying I smell?" Luke questioned.

"Never." Lorelai kissed him. "Now go."

When he emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, Lorelai was sitting on their bed removing her shoes. "How were they today?" she inquired.

Luke stopped in his tracks. "Wh-What?" he stuttered.

"The kids. How were they?"

"Oh." Luke breathed a sigh of relief. For a second, he thought Lorelai might have already found out about Kat. As much as he was dreading telling her about the encounter, he wanted her to hear about it from him and not anyone else. "They were good."

"Did Rory eat?"

"Uh. . . yeah. I got her out of her room for dinner." As Luke talked, he treid to think of the best way to breach the topic of him and Kat.

"Good. We'll probably have to go in in a bit and force her to sleep."

"Huh?"

"What's wrong, Luke? You seem a bit preoccupied."

"I'm fine," he lied quickly. Lorelai stared at him for a few seconds.

"No, you're not. Now spill."

"Sometimes it's really annoying how well you know me."

"It's called being married. Now stop trying to change the topic."

"Fine. Will's friend's mother dropped him off today."

"She was supposed to."

"I know. But it turns out I've met her before. She's been in the diner a couple times, and I saw her at Will's last game." Lorelai nodded, encouraging him to continue. Luke plowed on, finding it easier to continue once he had started. "Well, I thanked her and started to turn around, but she stopped me and then. . . kissed me."

"What?"

"It was harmless, I swear!" Luke defended quickly. "I pulled away as soon as I could and reminded her I was married."

"I can't believe you cheated on me!"

"I didn't cheat on you!"

"You kissed another woman!"

"Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?"

"Of course I have. You-" Before Lorelai could finish her sentence, Luke stopped her lips with his.

"Would you please shut up and listen now?" he asked once he pulled away. Lorelai nodded. "Good. First of all, Kat kissed me. I didn't know she was going to or I would have stopped her. And I did stop her as soon as I could. I would never, _ever _cheat on you, Lorelai. I love you and only you. Trust me, I don't want to be kissing anyone else. Okay?"

Lorelai nodded. "Okay. Sorry I assumed the worst."

"No problem. Are we good?"

"Always." Lorelai kissed him lightly. "Though I do want to kick that woman's ass."

Luke laughed. "That's my girl."

Lorelai awoke at 6:45 the following morning. Luke had already left with Emma and Will for their jog, so the opposite side of the bed was woefully empty. At first, Lorelai could not figure out what had awakened her, for her alarm was not set to ring for another thirty minutes. As she started to roll over, however, she felt the familiar flip of her stomach and immediately raced to the bathroom. After a couple minutes, she felt a hand pulling her hair back as another gently rubbed her back. Lorelai vomited a final time before leaning back against her husband. "Have you been sick since last week?" Luke questioned.

"Maybe," Lorelai answered evasively.

"Lorelai."

"Yes." She was too weak to argue.

"We're making an appointment to see a doctor today."

"I don't need a doctor."

"Yes, you do."

"Luke, I'm fine!"

"You're sick."

"I'm not sick. I-" Lorelai broke off as a sudden possibility occurred to her. It was not likely at all, but she needed to check. With surprising speed, she rose to her feet and strode quickly to the medicine cabinet. She found the desired box in no time and opened it quickly, allowing the foil-wrapped pills to fall into her head. She stared down at them for a minute, opening and closing her mouth in disbelief.

"What is it?" Luke questioned, confused.

"My birth control."

"So? Is that what's making you sick?"

"Kinda." She passed him the pack, and he paled considerably. The pills for May, June, July, and August were still present.

"You stopped taking the pill?"

"Not intentionally! I've just been so busy that I forgot."

"But we haven't used any other protection."

"I'm aware of that."

"So you might be. . ."

"I'm aware of that, too."

"Are you sure?"

"Not 100, but all signs point to yes."

"Wow."

"Okay, you're going to have to be more articulate."

"I'm sorry, it's just. . . shocking."

"Like Alfred Hitchcock shocking?"

"No, it's not bad. I'm just surprised. What are we going to do?"

"Well, I guess we should take a test to make sure we're right. I'll pick one up on the way back from Hartford tomorrow."

"You're going to Hartford tomorrow?"

"Business class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, remember?"

"Right." He absent-mindedly rubbed circles on her back "Lorelai?"

"Hmm?"

"I'd be happy either way." She smiled.

Thursday evening, Lorelai stopped at a drugstore in Hartford and quickly picked out a pregnancy test. As she started to walk toward the cashier, she hesitated and grabbed a second test to be safe. The cashier looked at her purchases and smiled at Lorelai. "Good luck. I hope it turns out the way you want it," she said.

"You hope it becomes confused and tells me maybe?" Lorelai asked. The cashier dropped her eyes and quickly bagged her tests.

"Your total is. . . 20.57," she announced. Lorelai slid her credit card through the machine before signing the receipt and handing it back to the cashier. Taking her bag, Lorelai left the store.

Luke had been anxious all night, and the kids had noticed when he snapped at Will after the small boy accidentally knocked over his juice at dinner. Of course, Luke immediately regretted his outburst and apologized profusely, but he still saw the hurt in Will's wide, blue eyes. After dinner, Luke had to deal with a screaming Reid who refused to take his bath, a fight between Emma and Ellie over the messy condition of their room, and Rory's pleas for him to give her an opinion on her latest paper. As Luke wrestled Reid and Will into their pajamas while listening to Rory read out her paper, he began to hope that the pregnancy test turned out negative.

After Reid and Will were ready for bed, Luke agreed to let them watch the first part of _Shrek,_ a movie Lorelai had rented a couple days before since she thought the kids would enjoy it. Even Rory joined her family in the den as they all curled up on the large, comfortable sofa. Reid and Will claimed Luke's lap, leaving Ellie to snuggle up to his side with her head on his shoulder. Rory opted to sit on the floor so that she could spread her math homework in front of her and continue to work. Luke sighed. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," he told his oldest daughter.

"Jack never wanted to go to Harvard," Rory argued.

"You're right," Luke admitted. "He was a bulldog all the way."

"I'm sure Grandpa would approve," Emma said, taking a seat next to her father. She was usually not as affectionate as the other kids, but she surprised Luke by cuddling up to him as Ellie had done. With a smile, Luke put an arm around two of his girls and smiled contentedly. He was suddenly finding the prospect of another child much less scary.

Lorelai arrived home forty-five minutes later and heard peals of laughter from the living room. "Are you guys having fun without me?" she called, entering the living room. Luke paused the movie and turned to face her.

"We started that movie you picked up the other day. But I think we're going to have to end it here for the night since it's bedtime for some of us." He tickled Reid and Will who still sat in his lap, and they giggled and squirmed to avoid his fingers.

"Stop it, Daddy!" Will begged.

"Why?" Luke asked without relenting.

"Please!" Will pleaded.

"Well, since you asked nicely. . ." Luke abruptly stopped his tickling and stood up, picking both boys up like footballs. They continued to giggle As Luke turned to carry his sons up the stairs, he caught sight of the drugstore bag that Lorelai held, and he faltered slightly. He suddenly remembered what they were doing that night, and his anxiety returned. He loved his kids—all five of them—but they could be hard to handle. He had no idea how he would deal with six kids.

"Are we going, Daddy?" Will asked, interrupting Luke's silent contemplation.

"Of course." Luke carried them the rest of the way to the bedroom and carefully set them on the beds. He kissed them goodnight, whispering, "I love you guys."

"I love you, too, Daddy!" they chorused. Lorelai entered the room with a smile.

"What about Mommy?" she asked.

"I love you, too, Mommy," Will told her.

"Me, too," Reid agreed. Lorelai kissed them.

"I love you guys, too," she said before leaving the room with Luke. They walked slowly to their bedroom, each lost in thought about what they were going to do. Silently, Lorelai reached in the bag and pulled out the two boxes. She placed one on the bed and opened the other quickly. After opening the second box, too, she took both tests and started toward the bathroom. "The moment of truth," she announced with a weak laugh. Luke barely managed a smile as she set on the toilet and took a deep breath.

When two minutes passed, both Luke and Lorelai looked at each other before turning to the two tests. Lorelai swallowed hard. Both were positive. Attempting to lighten the mood, she joked, "You think we'd be used to the symptoms by now."

"You'd think," Luke repeated. They sat in silence for a few moments. "I guess we'll have to tell the kids," Luke said finally.

"Yeah. I wonder how they'll take it."

"Hopefully not too bad."

"How are we taking this?"

"I'm still processing."

"I think I am, too."

"But this is definitely a good thing."

"Is it?"

"Of course it is. I love every moment I spend with our kids, good or bad. Another kid is only going to increase these moments."

"Say hello to sappy Luke."

"I'm serious, Lorelai! I wouldn't give any of our kids, including this unborn baby, up for anything. They mean the world to me."

"Me, too. Is it weird to love this little guy already?" Lorelai asked, placing her hands on her stomach. Carefully, Luke removed one hand and pressed his lips to her stomach which still showed no signs of her pregnancy.

"If it is, at least we're weird together," he assured her.

"Good. Because being weird alone sucks!" Luke chuckled softly and slowly kissed his way up her body, removing her shirt as he went.

"Will you still love me when I'm fat and hormonal?" Lorelai questioned.

"I loved you the last five times, didn't I?"

"You mean four?"

"No, five," he insisted. "Part of me loved you even before Rory was born." He kissed her sweetly, but she pulled back after a few seconds.

"What if I don't lose all my pregnancy weight."

Luke sighed. "You did the last five times."

"But I'm older now. What if I don't?"

"Then I'll still love you. I always have and I always will." Once more, he pressed his lips to hers; this time, Lorelai did not pull away. Instead, she began slowly unbuttoning Luke's flannel, giving herself ample time to savor the moment. After nearly ten minutes, she finally pulled the last button out of its hole, and he shrugged out of the shirt without breaking lip contact. "Could you two at least close the door to spare all innocent eyes?" a voice suddenly asked. Luke and Lorelai looked up to see Emma standing at the doorway with her arms crossed. "Rory's freaking out and asking for you guys," she informed her parents.

Luke started to stand up, but Lorelai stopped him. "I'll help her." She wriggled out from underneath his body and quickly donned her shirt once more before leaving the room. Luke glanced at the clock and turned to Emma. Before he could say anything, she spoke.

"Fifteen minutes. Yeah, I know. Goodnight." She disappeared from the doorway leaving Luke alone to lose himself in his thoughts.

Finding Rory at the kitchen table with two large books spread out in front of her, Lorelai decided that intervention was needed. She found a carton of ice cream in the freezer and placed two large scoops in a bowl which she put in front of Rory. "Eat," she commanded, handing her daughter a spoon. Mechanically, Rory began to shovel the ice cream into her mouth. "Whoa, slow down a bit or the Blue Devils might take up residence in your head," Lorelai said. Rory began to eat slower, and Lorelai waited until she seemed a bit more alert before asking, "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"I can't remember the difference between Charles I and Charles II!"

"A Roman numeral I?" Lorelai suggested.

"I'm serious, Mom! I have a test on Monday, and I'm not nearly prepared."

"They're giving you a test already?"

"This is Chilton."

"Right. The Taliban. Look, how about I help you study for an hour and then you can call it quits for the night and get some shut eye?"

"You need your beauty sleep. You don't want to wake up one day looking like Nancy Reagan. Or Headmaster Charleston's secretary."

"Make it an hour and a half and you have a deal."

"You drive a hard bargain, kid."

"I learned from the best." Rory held out her hand, and Lorelai shook it.

The Danes family arrived at the Gilmore residence ten minutes late the following night since Lorelai had delayed changing clothes as long as possible. Sensing that Luke was already irritable from having to visit his in-laws, Lorelai rang the doorbell without complaint. A new maid answered the door, and Lorelai said, "We're the Danes family. Stalin should be expecting us." The maid stared at her curiously.

"What she means to say is that she's Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore's daughter, and we're here for the family Friday night dinner," Luke amended.

Comprehension dawned on the maid, and she opened the door wider to admit them. "Mrs. Gilmore is expecting you."

"Thanks." Lorelai led the way to the living room.

"You're late, Lorelai," Emily said, standing up to greet them.

"That's because I'm pregnant," Lorelai muttered under her breath. Luke narrowed his eyes, and she said aloud, "Only ten minutes, Mom."

"Ten minutes can make a huge difference, Lorelai."

"Okay, then I'm sorry Mom. I'll tell everyone to make sure they don't have any wrecks next week so Lorelai Danes can make it to Friday night dinner on time."

"You could just leave earlier."

"And miss the chance to be yelled at? Why would I do a thing like that?"

"Sometimes you act like a child, Lorelai."

"Well, I like to believe I'm still young at heart."

"Would you like a gin martini, Lorelai?" Emily questioned.

Lorelai looked at Luke. They still had not told the kids about her pregnancy, and they did not want to tell anyone else until the kids knew. So Lorelai simply replied, "No thanks. Water's fine."

"Are you sure? I have plenty of choices."

"I'm fine, Mom. I'm driving tonight."

"No, you're not. Daddy drove over," Will argued.

"I'll drive home though," Lorelai countered. She looked to Luke for help.

"What do you guys want to drink?" he questioned, changing the subject.

"Milk!" Will exclaimed, his mother's abstinence from alcohol quickly forgotten.

As Emily left to pour drinks, Luke leaned over and whispered in Lorelai's ear. "Telling your mother is not something I'm looking forward to."

"Oh, she'll be happy. The table will be balanced again." They both smiled.

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Emily asked.

"Nothing, Mom." Lorelai straightened up slightly and listened as Emily began to rant about the rudeness of having side conversations.

They somehow managed to make it through dinner without incident, a rare occurrence with five kids and two people who were complete antagonists. For most of the meal, Emily fixed Lorelai with a scrutinizing gaze; obviously, she did not buy Lorelai's excuse about driving. Lorelai considered skipping dessert to escape the stifling house, but it smelled too appetizing to pass up. By the time they finally left, it was after 8:30, and Lorelai was eager to escape her mother's subtle, but malicious chastising.

Lorelai drove home as promised; by the time they reached the house, Reid was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Luke carried him into the house and quickly changed him into his pajamas before putting him to bed. Will followed soon after, and the four Danes girls settled down to watch a movie while Luke made some phone calls. After about fifteen minutes, he joined his girls in the living room, taking a seat in the arm chair since the sofa was full. He immediately noticed that they were watching a romantic comedy and sighed. Living with four girls had its downfalls "Was that your girlfriend on the phone?" Lorelai questioned teasingly.

Luke decided to play along. "Yeah. We set up a clandestine meeting for 5:00 am tomorrow."

"Well, don't wake me up when you leave."

"I'll try."

"Are you coming back afterwards or will you be there all morning?"

"I don't know. It might take awhile."

"Especially if she has a lot to deliver," Lorelai joked.

"Aw geez, Lorelai." Luke looked at his daughter who had taken an interest in the conversation.

"What? We were talking about the lady who delivers supplies for your diner, right?"

"Of course. But still. . ."

Lorelai yawned and stood up. "I'm tired," she announced. "I think I'm gonna turn in early tonight." She kissed each of her daughters. "Night, girls."

"Night, Mom," they chorused.

She gave Luke a short peck on the lips. When she pulled back, she whispered. "Give me ten minutes and then come check on me."

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions. Just do it." Lorelai straightened herself and disappeared up the stairs. Luke waited ten minutes before doing as Lorelai had instructed. The door to their room was closed, and he knocked softly before entering.

"Lorelai," he whispered, surveying the room quickly. A single lamp above the bed was illuminated, leaving much of the room in shadows. As he turned around, he heard the click of the door being shut and locked. Lorelai began to approach him, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw what she was wearing. She had on a blue silk teddy that matched her eyes and left little to the imagination.

"Do you like it?" Lorelai asked. Luke nodded dumbly. "Good. Because this is part of your reward for being a good boy tonight." She kissed him soundly, and he responded immediately by wrapping her arms around her and pulling her closer. They broke apart, breathless, and a small shred of reason found its way to the forefront of Luke's brain.

"The girls are right downstairs."

"So? We an be quiet."

"We've tried that before. Remember when Will thought we had ghosts?"

"The girls don't believe in ghosts, Casper."

"I know. That's what I'm afraid of."

"We're married with five kids, Luke. They know we have a healthy sex life."

"I just don't want to scar them for life."

"Luke, if you want to wait for the perfect opportunity with no chance of interruption, you might as well take the vow of chastity." She kissed him again; this time, he moved his hand to her thigh, and she moaned.

Smiling cheekily, Luke asked, "Who's the ghost now?" Lorelai responded by kissing him again, and he began to move his hand upward. Lorelai stopped it before it reached its destination.

"It's my turn to thank you for dealing with the demons I call Mom and Dad. You just need to sit back and relax." She led him to the bed and pushed him down into a sitting position. Stepping between his legs, she continued to kiss him as she slowly unbuttoned his flannel. After a couple minutes, she slowly slid it off his shoulders and threw it aside. Her fingers gripped his undershirt and tugged it out of the waistband of his pants. He raised his arms above his head to allow her to slowly pull it off him. Once it, too, was discarded, she climbed onto the bed beside him and moved so that she was kneeling behind him. Bringing her hands to his shoulders, she began to knead the tight muscles located there, feeling them relax beneath her touch. Luke seemed to be in a state of bliss; his eyes were partially closed, and his head lolled to one side. Slowly, she moved her hands inward, loosening the tense muscles as Luke encouraged her with small grunts of appreciation. Eventually, her hands reached his spine, and she moved them down before continuing.

After twenty minutes of massaging, Lorelai pulled her hands away. She admired the prominent musculature on his back for a few seconds before bringing her lips to his shoulder. She allowed her tongue to dart over his skin, enjoying its taste and texture. Her lips moved to the base of his neck and then up to his left shoulder. Lorelai slid off the bed and gently pushed him back so that he was lying on his back with his feet hanging off the edge of the bed. Finding his new position uncomfortable, Luke moved so that he was lying correctly in the bed with his head at the top. Lorelai moved over him, placing a knee on either side of his legs and supporting himself with her elbows. She kissed him soundly on the lips, parting his lips with her tongue. Her hands played with his chest hair and traced the lines of his muscles. After a few minutes, her lips moved to his jawbone and began their steady trek downward. Luke groaned softly when her tongue tickled his sensitive stomach, and Lorelai increased her attention to that spot. Lorelai loved how even after all the years they had been together, they still loved each other unconditionally and greatly enjoyed intimacy. They had not become an old, boring married couple who had sex once in awhile because they felt that they should. Instead, Lorelai and Luke were still discovering new things about the other, and their sex life was exciting.

When Lorelai's lips reached the top of Luke's jeans, she unbuttoned them and opened his fly before placing her hands at his hips and pulling them off. He lifted his lower body slightly to make it easier for her, and she had soon tossed his jeans aside, too. Her hands slid back up his legs, feeling his hard calf muscles and large quadriceps. Raising herself on her elbows, she smiled; through the thin cotton of his boxers, it was clear he was ready. To tease him, she gripped his erection lightly through his boxers, and he moaned and raised his hips off the bed slightly. "No ghosts, remember?" she reminded him. Carefully, she slid her hand to the top of his boxers, purposefully brushing against him along the way. She pulled off his boxers as an agonizingly slow pace, scraping her fingernails lightly against his hips. Once he was completely naked, she returned her lips to his as her hand slowly approached his groin. It closed over his erection, and she swallowed his moan of pleasure as she began to pump her hand up and down, squeezing lightly.

Luke's head began to spin as she continued her ministrations; all he could concentrate on was her touch which still sent shivers up his spine. His senses were swimming, and a tidal wave of emotion was swelling inside of him, threatening to break and engulf him completely. He took a deep breath, attempting to control himself as Lorelai removed her lips from his and carefully placed them around his shaft. Her tongue circled the tip of his erection, and he groaned again, louder this time. Reaching up, Lorelai covered his mouth with her hand to quiet him as she slid her lips farther down. Luke bit the palm of her hand to suppress another groan; he felt himself losing control of the rapidly building tidal wave. He wanted to tell Lorelai to stop because he would not be able to control himself much longer, but he was unable to form words. The only sound which escaped from his lips was a low growl. Still, Lorelai did not stop her actions; she simply took him farther into her mouth before pulling away somewhat so that her lips again rested at the tip of his shaft. Luke's breathing was becoming more and more labored as he struggled to control himself, but he was fighting a losing battle. He willed himself not to lose control as her lips began to move downward again, but his body ached for release. His vision blurred, and his breathing grew even heavier. Lorelai brought her free hand to the base of his shaft, applying a gentle pressure, and he could control himself no longer. With a scream that was only partially muffled by her hand, he climaxed violently, releasing the tidal wave which had become too strong to control. His body jerked upward as waves of pleasure washed over him, and a loud groan followed his scream.

When he finally settled down, Lorelai kissed her way back up his lips and pecked them lightly before hovering over him wearing a sexy smile. "I'm sorry," he apologized breathlessly. "I tried to control it, but you don't make it easy."

"Luke, I've told you before, I just want you to let go."

"But it feels. . . odd."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Immensely, but-"

"No buts. Just enjoy it and stop thinking about it. Trust me, it's far from odd." She kissed him again, and he pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. As she brushed against his shaft, she felt it harden again and pulled back, smiling. "Ready again already?" she inquired.

"Always," he answered.

"I must say, your endurance impresses me. Especially since you're getting old."

"Old, huh?" Luke used the arm wrapped around her waist to flip her around so that she was on her back with him leaning over her. "I'll show you old." His finger found its way into her, and she gasped in surprise as he rubbed her swollen clit. A second and third finger soon joined the first, toppling Lorelai off her precarious position on the cliff in no time. Shouting Luke's name, she bucked her hips and allowed her euphoria to wash over her.

"Not bad for an old geezer," she teased once she regained control of her breathing.

"I try." Luke kissed her before removing the small silk nightie. Now uninhibited, his lips roamed her body, finally reaching her thigh. After kissing both her inner thighs, he carefully inserted his tongue into her body.

"Luke, please, no more of this," she begged as she rapidly approached the edge of the cliff again. Luke, however, did not pull away; instead, he used his finger to stimulate her further, giving her a taste of her own medicine. In another minute, she was gone; she climaxed again with greater force. Once the spasms finished rocking her body, Luke returned his lips to hers. "I can't believe you just got me to come twice in ten minutes," Lorelai told him.

"What can I say? I'm talented," he replied cheekily.

"You tired?" she asked.

"Not yet. You?"

"Still eager to continue."

"Good." He kissed her again, carefully positioning his body so that he was at her entrance. Slowly, he lowered himself into her until he filled her completely. For a moment, they remained in that position, kissing slowly and passionately. Eventually, Luke began to move again, keeping his excruciatingly slow pace. As always, he poured his heart into their love-making, having realized long before that love was what made their intimacy special. Sex without love was nothing but exercise; he might as well run a marathon instead. As he felt himself nearing the edge for the second time that night, he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Lorelai responded. With that, they both lost themselves in one another.

Sometime later, they were lying in bed together. Lorelai's hand rested on his shoulder, and his arm circled her shoulders to hold her close. Her hand played with the hair on his chest, tickling him in the process. "Don't do that," Luke told her.

"Do what?" Lorelai asked.

"That." Luke stilled her hand by closing it in his own. "It tickles."

"Sorry." Lorelai was silent for a moment, lost in thought. "Do you ever wonder what makes us work?" she questioned suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I was just thinking. The divorce rate in this country is something like 50 today. But we're still together. Neither one of us wants to kill the other."

"Most of the time," Luke teased. Lorelai hit him playfully before continuing.

"We're still married after all these years. I just wonder why."

"Well, the vows did say til death do us part not til some pretty blond secretary comes along do us part," Luke joked.

"I know, but plenty of other couples take the same vows and still get divorced."

"Is this your subtle way of telling me you want a divorce?"

"Of course not! I was just thinking out loud."

"Well, I think part of it has to do with the fact that neither one of us takes the easy way out. If we have a problem, we don't try to hide it; we work through it. And then there's that little thing called love."

"Just a little thing?"

"Microscopic actually."

"Nice to know you care so much about me."

He kissed her soundly. "Lorelai Danes, you are the light of my life and the reason for my existence."

"And you, Luke Danes, are the best thing that has ever happened to me." They kissed for a couple minutes until Luke pulled away, leaving their hands clasped together. He kissed Lorelai's fingers before settling back in the bed.

"No, if you'll excuse me, I have an early date tomorrow, and I need sleep."

The following night was a town meeting. As usual, Lorelai decided that the whole family should go together, and as usual, Luke grumbled and complained but finally agreed to go. They reached Ms. Patty's dance studio just as Taylor started the meeting and took a few seats near the back. "Nice of you to join us, Lorelai," Taylor told her.

"I'm sorry, Taylor. You know how it is with kids. Well, I guess you don't."

"I'll have you know, I've watched countless _Seventh Heaven _re-runs."

"As long as your opinion comes from an accurate portrayal," Luke remarked sarcastically, gently rubbing Reid's back. The small boy had fallen asleep in his father's arms as they were walking to the meeting.

"Moving on. The first item of business for this meeting is something I've been thinking about for a few years now."

"Did it hurt?" Lorelai questioned.

"Excuse me?"

"All that thinking you were doing. Did it hurt?"

"_He_ is a bad influence on you," Taylor said, pointing to Luke.

"I like to think it's the other way around," Lorelai responded.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we do not yet have a festival for September, so I think we should create one. After all, the festivals are one of our main tourist attractions."

"If anything, I think they'd scare tourists away," Luke remarked.

"No one asked for your opinion, Luke," Taylor said, narrowing his eyes.

"Isn't that the point of these stupid meetings?" Luke asked. "Giving our opinion?"

"The point of these meetings is to vote on important town matters," Taylor told him.

"So let's vote. All in favor of having this stupid festival."

"Hey, that's my job! All in favor of creating another fun-filled festival to attract tourist," Taylor said. A number of hands went up, and Luke groaned.

"Come on, it won't be that bad,' Lorelai assured him.

"Please don't tell me you're buying into this," Luke groaned.

"I'm not voting for it, but I don't think I'll vote against it either."

"All opposed?" Taylor continued. A few hands rose up, including Luke's, but it was clear there were more people in favor of it. "Motion passed," Taylor declared, banging his gavel.

"Stupid town," Luke muttered. Lorelai hit him lightly to quiet him.

"Now, we need to decide on a theme for this festival," Taylor announced. A few people began shouting suggestions, but Taylor held up a hand to stop them. "One at a time, please," he instructed.

"How about just fall?" someone suggested. "We could celebrate the beginning of autumn."

"We could do something for Labor Day," Babette said.

"Or we could just do a generic festival. You know, have the carnival food, the games, a bonfire or something similar but no real theme," Lorelai told them. Beside her, Luke groaned again, shaking his head.

"You do not need another excuse to gorge yourself on junk," he told her.

"Sure I do. You won't let me eat anything good at home."

"And you're not going to start now." He gave her a meaningful look.

"Come on, Luke, we go through this every time. A little junk food never harmed anyone, not even an unborn baby."

"Shh," Luke said, glancing at the townspeople surrounding them.

"Nobody's listening," she assured him. At that moment, Taylor called for a vote on the theme, ending Luke and Lorelai's secret conversation. After a couple minutes, the voting ended and Taylor slammed the gavel onto the podium.

"I guess that settles it. We're going to have an unthemed festival on September 15. Now, any other orders of business?" When no one spoke, he hit his gavel a final time. "Very well. This meeting is adjourned."

As everyone stood up, Luke slung the diaper bag over his shoulder and rose to his feet with Reid still in his other arm. Lorelai and the other four kids followed him out of the dance studio where the meetings were held. "He's almost got every month covered now," Rory commented.

"I think March might still be open," Emma remarked.

"Don't say that too loudly and give Taylor any ideas," Luke said behind them.

"Why not? Festivals can be pretty fun," Rory told him.

"Yeah!" Will and Ellie agreed.

"Sometimes you take after your mother too much," Luke said.

"She says the same thing about you a lot," Rory said.

"Well, we each have our own opinions."

"Trust me, I know," Rory remarked with a smile. "Sometimes I wonder how you two haven't killed each other yet." Luke shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess we love each other too much."

"Aww! Isn't that sweet," Emma teased. Luke used his free hand to cuff her lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, do I have to call Defax on you?" she joked.

"Why are you calling Defax?" Lorelai questioned from behind them.

"Dad's being abusive."

"Again?" Lorelai laughed and grabbed his arm, laying her head against his shoulder.

"You know how he is," Emma said.

"Is everyone against me?" Luke questioned.

"Never," Lorelai whispered seriously, kissing his ear. Grinning, Luke extracted his arm from her grip and placed it around her shoulders.

Lorelai always took Sundays off and Luke would close the diner on that day so that they could spend time with their family. After a quick breakfast, Luke gave into Will's entreaties and went out to play soccer with him. The rest of the family joined them except for Rory who had to study for an English test that she had the following week. They decided to play girls versus boys, and Lorelai had the ball first, so Luke stepped in front of her to guard her. Lorelai attempted to fake to the right and ended up tripping over the ball. Luke caught her before she fell wearing a huge grin. "Good thing your mother didn't name you Grace," he remarked.

"Funny. But look who still has the ball."

"Not for long." He leaned over and kissed her. While she was distracted, he kicked the ball toward Will who immediately ran it across the yard.

"That's not legal," Lorelai chastised, pulling back.

"All's fair in love and war."

"So this is war?"

"I never said that."

"But you implied it, Jefferson. So let's go."

"Fine. Just remember who won that war."

"Time to rewrite history." Lorelai laughed and raced after her son who managed to kick the ball past Ellie and score the first point of the game. Luke held up his hand, and Will gave him an excited high-five before running after Emma who was racing toward the opposite goal. She kicked it toward the goal, but Luke blocked it and passed it to Reid who happily kicked it once, sending it flying off to the side. Luke recovered it and began to move toward his goal. Lorelai approached him from behind and pinched his butt, causing him to lose control of the ball. Emma took it and scored the first goal for her team.

"_That_ is cheating," Luke complained.

"Anything goes, remember?" Lorelai reminded him.

"Oh, really?" Luke said, smiling devilishly. The next time she received the ball, Luke wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck, causing her to squeal and stop guarding the ball which Will took. Lorelai, of course, almost immediately retaliated. When Luke next had the ball, she stood in front of him, ostensibly to defend against any kick he made. Instead, she reached down and grabbed his penis through his light, cotton shorts. Distracted, he allowed her to kick the ball to Ellie who scored before he regained control of his senses.

Luke next decided to pick Lorelai up and carry her over his shoulder as he moved the ball to the goal. Lorelai took revenge by approaching him from behind and playfully nipping the cartilage of his ear, an action she knew he could not resist. Reaching behind him, Luke pulled her around so she was standing in front of him and kissed him soundly on the lips, immediately inserting his tongue into her mouth. "Enough is enough, guys," Emma said, exasperated. "Either go inside and flirt or play the game right."

"Yes, ma'am," Luke said, backing away from his wife. "No more flirting."

"For now," Lorelai added as they resumed play.

The boys won 8-7 when they finally decided to call it quits. Reid had actually made the tie-breaking goal (with some help from his father), and he was bounding up and down excitedly as they entered the house. "Lunch'll be ready in about twenty minutes," Luke told his family as the kids scattered. Lorelai remained in the kitchen, watching as he began to gather ingredients for the meal. Because the summer heat had not abated completely, Luke was wearing a pair of lightweight, black cotton shorts which reached to his knees, leaving his bulging calf muscles visible. Instead of flannel, he wore a white t-shirt that Lorelai had bought him at a concert she, Rory, and Emma had attended the previous month. "What are you looking at?" Luke questioned, noticing her gaze.

"I want your body," Lorelai responded.

"And here I thought you liked me for my personality."

"Don't kid yourself." Lorelai kissed him, bringing her hands to his groin.

"Don't do that. I have to get lunch done."

"Do what?" Lorelai questioned innocently, squeezing slightly.

"You know perfectly well what." Luke removed her hands and turned back to his cooking. "Go find some way to occupy yourself."

"Dirty."

"Lorelai!"

"But what if I want you to occupy me?"

"I'm busy."

"Fine." Lorelai turned and stomped out of the kitchen. She found Reid and Will on the floor of their room playing with their toy cars, and she joined them until Luke called them all to lunch.

"You planning on emerging from your room at all today?" Lorelai asked Rory as she dished up the taco salad Luke had made. Normally, Lorelai would complain about the inordinate amount of green in the meal, but her pregnancy was making healthy foods appear more desirable.

"Yeah. I'm pretty much done now anyway."

"Good. Because I was planning on having a girls-only movie afternoon. I've rented three different movies to watch. Sound good?"

"Yeah!" all three girls called quickly.

"What are Reid, Will, and I supposed to do?" Luke questioned.

"I don't know. Guy stuff," Lorelai told him.

"Like what?"

"Like fixing cars or playing football," Lorelai suggested.

"Could we work on the airplane, Daddy?" Will questioned. He had become interested in airplanes over the summer, and he was working on building a model airplane with Luke's help. Of course, neither had built an airplane before, and they had made many failed attempts.

"Sure," Luke agreed. Satisfied, Will went back to his meal, and Luke raised his eyes to meet Lorelai's. Almost imperceptibly, she nodded. "There's actually something your mother and I wanted to share with all of you," Luke said. He paused, silently telling Lorelai that it was her job to break the news.

"How would you guys feel about. . . another sibling?" Lorelai asked.

"You're pregnant?" Emma questioned.

"Again?" Rory added.

"It certainly seems that way," Lorelai said.

"You two just couldn't keep your hands off each other, could you?" Emma inquired.

"So what do you guys think about this?" Luke wondered.

Emma shrugged. "I think it's a big change, but it could be pretty neat," Rory said.

"I always wanted a little sister," Ellie commented.

"I want another brother," Will declared.

"Me, too," Reid agreed.

"Well, I can't really control which one it is," Lorelai told them. "We'll just have to wait and see."

When Lorelai arrived home Wednesday night, Rory had locked herself in her room. Lorelai knocked on the door. "You okay in there, Sweets?" she asked.

"Yeah. I just need some quiet so I can study," Rory called back.

"You want something to eat?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure? Because I hear food's good for the brain."

"I'm not hungry, Mom," Rory said shortly. Lorelai stared at the closed door in surprise. Rory was, by far, the most patient of her kids. She was rarely short with her parents and usually did as they asked without question. Before Lorelai could try to figure out the reason for Rory's attitude, Ellie interrupted her.

"Mommy, where do babies come from?" she asked. Lorelai sighed. She knew the question was bound to come up sooner or later, for Ellie was nearing the age where Rory and Emma had become curious about reproduction and was likely curious about her mother's pregnancy. Sitting in a kitchen chair, Lorelai helped Ellie into her lap and began to explain about the birds and the bees.

When Luke arrived home, Ellie met him at the back door and asked, "Do you and Mom have sex?" Startled, Luke looked up at Lorelai who shrugged.

"She asked, and I figured it was about time she learned."

"I guess you're right." Luke looked back at Ellie and picked her up. "We do," he answered. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here." He pressed his finger against her nose, and she giggled.

"Why?" Ellie asked.

"I'm going to let your mother field this one. I've got to get dinner started." Luke placed Ellie back on her feet, and she approached her mother for an answer.

"You ask tough questions, kiddo," Lorelai told her. "But one of the main reasons people have sex is to express their love for one another. Also, it feels amazing—as long as it's with the right person."

Ellie thought for a minute. "Okay," she finally decided before running off to play.

"I've always hated this conversation," Luke remarked.

"Hey, I'd rather she has it with us than with a stranger."

"True." Luke kissed her in greeting. "You're going to that meeting tonight, right?" he asked.

"If I must."

"You must."

"Then I guess I'm going." Lorelai stood up and stretched. "I guess I have to go get ready then. Are you sure you don't want to go? It could be fun."

"I'm sure, Tom Sawyer. Give me twenty minutes for dinner."

Lorelai arrived at the parent-teacher meeting fifteen minutes late, and she heard the mumbling of the other parents as she took a seat near the front. The teacher who was speaking turned to face her. He had wavy black hair, dazzling green eyes, and handsome features. His dress was impeccable; he wore a navy blue suit with a maroon tie that was tied in a perfect knot and hung at the exact center of his body. "Glad you could join us, Ms. . ."

"Danes," Lorelai supplied. "Rory's mom."

"Right."

"Scholarship student," a woman muttered audibly behind Lorelai who turned to glare at her. Unfortunately, Lorelai was unable to locate the commenter because of the number of people in the room. Settling back, Lorelai half-listened as the teacher continued to drone on about testing.

When they had a short break, Lorelai approached the refreshment table and grabbed a couple cookies. As she took a bite of one, the teacher approached her. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Max Medina. Rory's in my English class," he said.

"Lorelai Danes," Lorelai introduced, swallowing. She took his extended hand and shook before remarking, "Did you know those cookies were stale?"

"Why do you think no one else is eating them?"

"I just thought they were being nice and saving them all for me."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"That's okay. I'm used to it." Lorelai tossed her half-eaten cookie and the whole one she had also picked up in the garbage.

"I actually came over to see how Rory was doing."

"Why? Did she seem sick?"

"Just a little upset. Now, I know a D is shocking, but Rory has the potential to be a great writer. She just needs to put some more effort into her next paper. Chilton can be tough, but it's doable."

"Rory got a D?"

"Yes, but we have a test Friday, so she has a chance to pull her grade up."

"No, you don't understand. Rory has _never_ gotten a D. This explains the whole locking herself in her room thing. Look, I've got to go. It was nice meeting you."

"You, too, Lorelai." Max watched her go, admiring the eloquent curves of her body and her beautiful wavy brown hair.

When Lorelai arrived home, she found Luke in the kitchen paying bills. Rising to his feet, he kissed her in greeting. "The boys just went to bed, Ellie and Emma are in their room reading, and Rory's still studying. How was the meeting?"

"Rory got a D."

"What?"

"I talked to her English teacher. Evidently, he gave her a D on her test paper."

"Well, that explains a lot."

"We need to talk to her." Lorelai approached her oldest daughter's door and knocked. "Rory, sweets, it's me," she called. When she received no answer, she continued, "I talked to Mr. Medina today."

Finally, the door opened. Rory's eyes were red-rimmed, and streaks from tears ran down her cheeks. "I guess you know I'm failing out of Chilton then," she said. "I'm just not good enough."

"Of course you're good enough," Luke told her, placing two fingers under her chin and raising her head so that she stared into his eyes. "You've just never been challenged before, and you're used to excelling without working to your full potential. One bad grade isn't the end of the world. Right, Princess?" Luke had called Rory "Princess" when she was younger; it was their special name. Although he used it less when she grew older, he would still call her by her special nickname once in awhile, and the name always brought a smile to her face.

"Right, Daddy." At nearly sixteen, Rory typically called Luke "Dad," but she would revert to the childish address occasionally, especially when she wanted something.

"Good. Now, what are we studying?" Luke asked.

Three hours later, Luke and Rory were still studying. As soon as Lorelai had begun to show signs of fatigue, Luke had forced her to go to bed despite her objections. In fact, he had slung her over his shoulder and carried her to their bedroom to ensure that she went to bed. This action elicited the first laugh from Rory all night, indicating that she was in a much better mood. When Luke returned from delivering his wife to their bedroom, Rory was still smiling as she rifled through her notes.

"Okay, kiddo, I say we call it quits for the night," Luke said shortly after midnight. "We've both got to be up early tomorrow."

"Ten more minutes. Please!"

"No way! I want to see you in bed when I come back down."

"Yes, sir."

"Goodnight, Rory."

"Goodnight, Stalin." He kissed her forehead before tiptoeing up the stairs to his bedroom, stripping off his shirt as he went. When he reached the bedroom, he saw Reid's small form curled up next to Lorelai's. At two, Reid still had numerous nightmares, and he usually crawled into bed with his parents after having one. Fortunately, he was still, unlike Will who thrashed around in his sleep and kept both his parents up at night whenever he slept in bed with them. Pulling the sheet up farther to cover his son and wife, Luke quickly changed into a pair of cotton pants and brushed his teeth. AS promised, he checked on Rory and found her already in bed. Shutting the door quickly, he returned to his room and crawled into bed next to Reid, falling quickly asleep.

Since her siblings went to the inn the following afternoon, Rory instead visited her father at the diner. She took a seat at the counter, catching his eye as he walked out with three plates of food. "Let me deliver these, and I'll be right with you," he promised.

"Don't rush," Rory told him. "You need any help?"

"I'm fine, thanks. You just concentrate on homework." He brought the plates to the customers before walking behind the counter and beginning to wipe it clean. "So, what can I get you?" he asked Rory.

"Some milk and some help studying," she answered quickly.

"Coming right up." Luke poured his milk before taking her book and beginning to ask her questions. As he quizzed her, he continued to serve the customers, pausing refills and bringing orders.

When he brought one customer her check, she thanked him before commenting, "I'm impressed at your ability to multitask. This is some of the best service I've ever received, and you were helping your daughter the whole time."

"Trust me, after you learn how to serve customers while taking care of a crying baby, anything is possible."

"I'm still impressed." She laid a few bills on the table. "Keep the change."

"Thanks." Luke took the cash and walked back to the counter as he continued to quiz Rory.

Lorelai entered the diner at 5:45 with the rest of the kids trailing behind her. When Reid saw his father emerging from the kitchen, he rushed to him and wrapped himself around his father's leg. Surprised, Luke stumbled a bit, and Lorelai caught the plate he was holding before the food slid to the floor. "Thanks," Luke said, kissing her.

"Where does this go?"

"Table by the window."

"Which table by the window?"

"The one with the guy with glasses and a green shirt."

"Aw, look, Stever Irkle all grown up." As she left to deliver the food, Luke bent over and lifted Reid into his arms, asking Rory another question as he passed her. She answered quickly and accurately. He walked into the kitchen and flipped a couple burgers before taking a finished plate out to Lorelai.

"Table over there in the corner," he told her, pointing.

"You need to number your tables, Luke," Lorelai chastised.

"I'll never remember the numbers."

"You will if you actually used them all the time."

"My way works. Now, are you going to work or complain?"

"I'm going."

Luke and Lorelai continued to quiz Rory until 11:00 that night, alternating so that one of them could take care of the other kids. At 11:00, Luke yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "I think you're more than ready," he said. "What you need now is a good night's rest."

"I'm not that tired," Rory argued.

"You will be tomorrow if you don't go to bed soon," Lorelai said. "You don't want to fall asleep while you're taking the test, do you?"

"I guess not. Goodnight, guys."

"Night, sweets," Lorelai said, kissing her head. Luke did the same before both left the room and headed for their bedroom.

The following afternoon, Luke and Lorelai headed to Hartford to confirm the pregnancy. Luke pulled into the parking lot outside the doctor's office at around 11:00 and turned off the engine before climbing out of the car and walking around to the back to unstrap Reid from his car seat. Lifting his son into his arms, he followed Lorelai inside. They signed in at the front desk before taking a seat in the waiting room. Four other women surrounded them, but Luke quickly noticed that he and Reid were the only people in the room with a Y chromosome. Lorelai appeared not to notice this; she found a magazine on the table beside her and began to flip through it absent-mindedly. Luke pulled a couple toys out of the diaper bag and began to play with Reid, trying to ignore the stares of the room's other occupants. At long last, a nurse emerged from the back and called out Lorelai's name. Luke quickly repacked the diaper bag and rose to his feet. He and Lorelai followed the nurse to an exam room where she began to prepare Lorelai for the ultrasound. Lorelai lay down on the exam table and extended her hand to Luke. Smiling, he took the seat beside her bed, placing Reid in his lap as he took Lorelai's hand between both of his. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed her knuckles and fingers. "This might be a bit cold," the nurse warned as she began to spread the gel on Lorelai's stomach.

"I'm used to it, don't worry," Lorelai said, and Luke laughed.

"What we doin?" Reid questioned.

"We're going to see your new brother or sister," Luke explained.

"Oh. Where is he?"

"He's inside of Mommy," Lorelai answered.

"Why's he in there?"

"Because that's where he gets big and strong before he comes into this world. You were in there, too," Lorelai told him.

"Really?" Reid's eyes grew wide.

"Yep. And so were your brother and your sisters."

"How did we get in there?" Reid asked.

"Ask us in about ten years," Luke told him.

"How're we gonna see the baby if he's inside Mommy?"

"With a special machine," Luke said.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it just tickles," Lorelai informed him. At that moment, the door opened, and the doctor walked in with a clipboard in one arm.

"I hear congratulations are in order. Again," he said. Dr. Howell had delivered both Reid and Will, and Luke and Lorelai both liked him because of his excellent medical skills and his easy-going personality. He was in his late forties with thinning, light brown hair. Unlike most men his age, however, he did not try to comb his hair at odd angles to cover his bald spots; he seemed content with his natural appearance. Luke and Lorelai had earlier learned that he spend a great deal of time running, and his lean, muscular body clearly showed the efforts of his vigorous exercise. Although unremarkable, his face showed a kindness that most people did not posess.

"I guess they are," Lorelai agreed.

"I see this one's growing up nicely." Dr. Howell reached out to ruffle Reid's hair, but Reid shrank away from his touch.

"He's a bit shy," Luke explained.

"That's okay. I don't expect him to remember me. Now, let's see the new addition, shall we?" He took the probe the nurse offered him and placed it on Lorelai's stomach, slowly moving it until he found the baby. "Here we are," he announced. "Looks like a healthy, well-developed one and a half month old fetus. That would put conception in mid-July and birth in mid-April. Of course, it's still too early to tell the sex."

Lorelai looked at Luke who shook his head. "Actually, we'd prefer not to know even when we can. We like the surprise."

"I thought that's what you might want to do. Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Mid-July, huh?" Lorelai asked. She looked at Luke with her eyebrows raised, and he immediately knew what she was thinking. They had had a small fight at the beginning of July; Luke could not even remember what had started it, for it was something petty. But for a week, Luke had slept on the couch, waking up each morning before the kids so they would not know their parents were fighting. He had not been able to sleep well at all; he would toss and turn all night and wake feeling even more tired than when he went to bed. One night, he had decided to go out onto their back porch, hoping that some fresh air would help him sleep. He had found Lorelai on the swing, slowly swinging back and forth. "I couldn't sleep," she explained when she heard the door open. As she talked, she kept his eyes trained on the ground. "I'm not used to sleeping alone. I don't like it."

"I know what you mean," Luke agreed, falling onto the swing next to her.

"Sorry," they said at the same time, turning to face each other. Luke leaned in and kissed her slowly, sensually, forgiving her for whatever silly wrong she had committed that he had long forgotten. They rose to their feet together as if they had made an unspoken agreement to do so. Despite their fighting, the connection between them had not snapped. They still acted as one person, each instinctively knowing the other's next move. Still connected at the lips, they moved to the door, and Luke reached behind her and opened the door. She walked backwards into the kitchen with him still pressed tightly against her. They paused once inside, and he locked the door behind him before they began their trek toward the staircase. Despite their concentration on each other, there was little stumbling as they climbed to the bedroom, for they were too in tune with one another to trip over each other. Once they reached the bedroom, Luke once more locked the door behind him before leading Lorelai to the bed. They fell onto it together, and Luke continued the languid kissing. He now lay above her, supported by his upper arms and feet. Lorelai's hands still lay innocently on her shoulders; they were in no hurry, for each one felt the need to take it slow. Luke's tongue probed her mouth lazily, running over every surface as if memorizing the contours so he could later make a model.

After nearly ten minutes, he finally moved his mouth off of hers, kissing her face, her ear, her neck. The pajama t-shirt rose slowly off her body; once discarded, his lips continued their journey, traveling over her shoulders and to her breasts. He gave special attention to her breasts, causing the nipples to harden beneath his tongue and teeth. After her breasts, he moved inward and kissed the center of her chest before moving down. He circled her belly button with his tongue, leaving chills on her skin as he went. Before he could remove her pants, she turned him over and gave his body the same attention he had given hers. Her hands now roamed freely, exploring him and rediscovering the contours of his body. Her lips followed, tasting him, enjoying the pleasure both received from this simple action. Lorelai found that she could focus on nothing but his half-naked, god-like body beneath her, and she worshipped it to the best of her abilities with her actions. Reaching his jeans, she unbuckled his belt and smoothly pulled it from the loops, dropping it to the ground. After unbuttoning his jeans, she used her teeth to pull down the zipper, and she slowly pulled off his pants until she reached his feet. Tossing the jeans aside, Lorelai kissed both his ankles before moving up his legs, feeling the hard muscle beneath her tongue and lips. When she reached his knees, she topped to pull his boxers off before continuing. As her lips moved over the sensitive skin surrounding his groin, Luke wanted to scream, but he managed to only let out a low moan. Her tongue tickled him again, and he kept control with great difficulty. He loved Lorelai deeply, and that love added an extra dimension to their intimacy. Although he had never been with another woman, he instinctively knew that no other experience could come close to what he felt with Lorelai. It was her touch that excited him, her lips that made him forget all else, her smile that made his heart skip a beat. He was one of the lucky ones—he had found true love right out of the gate, and he had the rest of his life to enjoy it.

Lorelai's tongue struck again, and Luke jerked away involuntarily. Lorelai had not even touched his rapidly growing erection, and he already felt ready to burst. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine the least desirable thing possible, but she moved her lips an inch closer to him and drove all other thoughts from his mind. "Lorelai," he groaned. But she simply touched his skin with her tongue, and he was gone. He called her name again, louder this time, and exploded. Complete euphoria washed over him as he reached his peak, and it seemed to take an hour for him to descend from his high. When he finally calmed down some, he looked at Lorelai with a sly smile. "Payback time," he told her. He slowly unknotted the belt on her pajama pants and tugged them off her body. Just as she had done, he kissed all the way up her legs, pausing before he reached her underwear. He kissed the smooth skin of her inner thigh, running his tongue over it. She groaned and gripped the sheet beside her, determined to control herself. Of course, Luke was not making it easy; he had moved his attention to the other leg, still using his mouth to trace slow spirals on her skin.

"Luke, please," she begged.

"Please, what?" he asked innocently, moving his lips only slightly higher. In response, she groaned. She wanted to guide him where she really wanted him, but she was afraid she would lose control if she let go of the sheet. At long last, Luke reached her underwear and removed it, but his tongue still did not arrive at its final destination. His hands still rested at her sides, allowing his tongue to do all the work. Finally, Luke reached her center and raised his lips from her body slightly. Lorelai could feel his warm breath over her, and it seemed to heat up her insides, reducing them to mush. She squirmed, barely retaining control of herself, and she cried out in pleasure when his tongue finally entered her. That single action was the last straw; Lorelai completely lost control, pulling away from him. However, he simply grabbed her buttocks and held her close as his tongue continued to explore her and his teeth stimulated her further. She came again and again, each time more violently than the last, but Luke refused to relent. Lorelai felt as if she had found cloud nine; the pleasure she felt was like nothing she had experienced before. It cancelled out everything else so that the world seemed perfect.

Eventually, the spasms stopped, and Lorelai's breathing began to slow. Luke pulled away and kissed her lips. "You're. . . amazing," she whispered.

"Just amazing?"

"Absolutely incredible. Beyond perfection. Indescribable."

"That's a bit better." Luke kissed her again, longer this time. "You're not done yet, are you?" he asked.

"Just getting started."

"Good." He raised himself up, and she reached between them and guided him to her entrance. He slid inside her easily and slowly lowered himself into her. He wanted to make the experience last as long as possible, but he was having difficulty controlling himself. Her body felt right around his, and his body was telling him he needed release. Luke was amazed; after his explosive orgasm just minutes before, he was ready again. But he managed to control himself and pulled away slowly, kissing her as they continued to make love. He wanted to pound into her, to release the desire which coursed through every part of his body. But he kept his movements leisurely and purposeful, trying to convey his feelings through his actions. After a few strokes, he felt her muscles seizing up around him, and he exploded within her. As she felt him come, she toppled over the edge with him, shouting his name as her muscles spasmed. Only his lips on hers prevented them from waking the kids, for both were screaming loudly. Eventually, they came down from their high. After a few soft kissed, Luke looked into her eyes and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you more," she responded.


	6. Chapter 6

"Mid-July," the doctor confirmed, breaking both out of their reverie. "Did you have a date in mind?"

"You could say that," Lorelai said, smiling. Luke had a similar goofy grin on his face. "Do you think we could have a picture?"

"Of course. Anything else?"

"I think that will be all for now. Thanks."

"No problem. See you in a couple months."

Lorelai broke the news to Sookie after the appointment and had to endure ten minutes of squealing. When Sookie finally calmed down, she asked, "How does Luke feel about this?"

"He seems excited. He told me that he loves every minute he spends with our kids and that another baby would make it better."

"That's so sweet. How come he's never that sweet in public?"

"He has a reputation to keep."

"So how do you feel about your pregnancy?"

"It's unexpected but a good unexpected."

"That's good. What are you going to name him or her?"

"We haven't discussed that yet."

"Ooh, what about your parents?"

"We haven't discussed that either."

For once, they arrived at the Gilmore house on time. Emily had hired a new maid, and Lorelai had to explain who they were before the maid led them to the living room. "Nice to see you on time, Lorelai," Emily commented.

"Well, we took your advice, Mother."

"Could I get you something to drink?"

"Water would be great," Lorelai said.

"Again?" Emily asked.

"I've heard it's good for you. Something about hydration."

"No need to be smart, Lorelai." Emily poured her water and drinks for the rest of the family before sitting on the couch with a martini for herself. "So, Rory, how is Chilton?" she questioned.

"Good. I had a test today, and I think I did well on it thanks to Mom and Dad. They've helped me study the last couple nights."

"That's nice. What about you, Emmalyne? How are you doing in school?"

"Okay," Emma said with a shrug.

"Just okay?" Emily asked.

"They're all straight-A students, Mom," Lorelai said with a sigh.

"Well, that's very nice. You should be proud, Lorelai."

"We are," Lorelai said.

"So, how is everything else? Any other important news?"

"Mom's pregnant," Ellie blurted out, and Lorelai glared at her. Immediately, her eyes grew wide, and she clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Pregnant? When were you planning on telling me, Lorelai?"

"Tonight," Lorelai said. _Maybe_, the voice in her head added.

"How far along are you?"

"About a month and a half."

"A month and a half? How long have you known?"

"We just found out last week," Luke assured her.

"So I'm guessing you're the father."

"No, Mom, it's actually my plumber. He was looking so hot in his jeans-"

"This is not a joking matter, Lorelai."

"I'm not joking. Luke does all the plumbing for the house."

"Was this planned?"

"How is that any of your business?"

"I just want to know how many grandchildren you plan on giving me."

"I don't really know, Mom. How does two dozen sound?" Luke shot her a warning look, and Emily narrowed her eyes at her daughter. Before they could continue the conversation, Richard walked into the room.

"What have I missed?" he questioned.

"Apparently Lorelai's pregnant," Emily told him.

"Again?"

"Yes, Dad, again. And before you ask, I'm one and a half months along and yes, Luke is the father. No, it wasn't planned, but we're excited nonetheless and would prefer to stay that way."

"Can you afford another baby, Lorelai?" Richard asked.

"We'll manage, Dad. Now let's eat. I'm starving."

The main course of the night was goose which the new maid brought out as soon as the salad course was finished. Unfortunately, she had not cut the bird, and Will wrinkled his nose as soon as he saw it. "Is it still alive?" he questioned, staring at the goose suspiciously.

"Of course not!" Emily exclaimed.

"But it looks like it is."

"It hasn't been cut yet," Lorelai explained.

"I still don't want to eat it."

"Will," Luke warned.

"I don't want to eat anything that looks like it's alive."

"He has a point," Lorelai agreed.

"Please don't encourage him," Luke implored.

"How about I make you a deal, Sweets," Lorelai said, leaning over conspiratorially to Will. "You eat a piece if I do."

Will considered for a moment. "Okay," he agreed.

"Good." When the maid placed a piece of the meal on her plate, Lorelai cut a bite and chewed carefully. As soon as she swallowed, her stomach turned, and she jumped up from the table and ran for the bathroom.

Luke stood up to follow her, apologizing as he left. "Sorry. With the pregnancy, she just can't stand certain foods." He left the room, finding Lorelai bent over an expensive-looking toilet in a nearby bathroom. As he had done countless times in the past, he knelt beside her, comforting her.

"You know, you don't have to follow me every time I throw up," Lorelai told him, shakily leaning back against the wall. "It can't be that pleasant."

"Neither is sitting out at that table with your parents."

"Good point."

"Lorelai, what's going on in there?" Emily asked, knocking.

"We're having a raging party, Mom. We thought bobbing for apples in the toilet bowl would provide hours of entertainment," Lorelai answered.

"No need to get smart, Lorelai," Emily said, walking into the room. Luke was standing at the sink, wringing out a washcloth as Lorelai lay weakly against the wall. "Are you okay?" Emily questioned.

"I'm fine. Just morning sickness. Actually, I guess it would classify as evening sickness now." As Luke bent to wipe the sweat from her forehead, another wave of nausea hit Lorelai, and she bent back over the toilet bowl. Once more, Luke pulled her hair out of her face as he rubbed slow circles on her back.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Emily asked as Lorelai retched again.

"She'll be fine in a couple minutes," Luke assured his mother-in-law.

"Okay. I'll send your dinner back with Carla to keep it warm." At the mention of food, Lorelai vomited again, and Luke hastened to brush her hair more fully out of her face.

"Thanks, Mrs. Gilmore. We should be out soon." With a final glance at her daughter, Emily left the room. After the door had closed behind her mother, Lorelai remained hunched over the toilet for a minute, but her stomach finally seemed to have settled. With a sigh, she leaned backward, and Luke pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms gently around her as he lay back against the wall. One of his hands took the washcloth he had wet earlier and used it to wipe the sweat from her face as his other hand moved under her shirt to gently stroke the smooth skin he found there. "We're eventually going to have to go back," he whispered in her ear.

"Just a few more minutes of peace," Lorelai begged.

"You'll get no objection from me there." When Luke finished wiping her face, he set the washcloth aside and kissed her temple. Contentedly, Lorelai snuggled back against his chest. As always, she found comfort and security in his arms. All her troubles seemed to melt away as she felt his heart beat in time to her own; she could even stand her parents as long as he was there to support her. Sighing, she turned slightly to cuddle closer to him. His free hand moved to her back, lifting her blouse so that he could trace languid circles around her spine. Although not sexual, his touch still aroused a variety of emotions in Lorelai. Closing her eyes, she allowed pleasure to wash over her as a tingling feeling followed the trail of her fingers.

The door opened again ten minutes later, and Rory entered the bathroom. "I'm supposed to come check on you two," she told her parents.

"Tell my mother I'm still sick," Lorelai said, burying her face more deeply into Luke's chest. He kissed his wife's head and looked up at their daughter.

"Actually, tell her that I'm worried about Lorelai so we're going home."

"Why do I have to do your dirty work?" Rory inquired.

"Because you're the kid, and I'm the dad. Now go."

"My knight in flannel," Lorelai said, looking up at Luke with a grateful smile as Rory left.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to use this excuse every week."

"We can milk it for two months at least."

Luke laughed and shook his head. "Come on, Crazy Lady, let's go home."

"I'm starving," Lorelai announced as they walked into the house forty-five minutes later.

"Go get the kids ready for bed, and I'll fix us something to eat," Luke told her, passing Reid to her.

"Just no goose. Please."

"No goose," he promised.

Since it was Friday night, Lorelai allowed Will and Reid to skip their bath. After changing them, she started _The Lion King_ on the television in the living room, and they happily curled up on the couch to watch. When she entered the kitchen, Lorelai found Luke already dishing food onto two plates. Lorelai smiled when she saw the pork, macaroni and cheese, and cinnamon apples on her plate. "You remembered."

"Of course I remembered," Luke said. "You ate nothing but these three things for four weeks straight when you were pregnant with Reid."

"I'm actually craving tacos right now."

"I could whip some up quickly," Luke offered.

"No, this looks good. But in the future. . ."

"I'll make sure to remember the tacos."

"Good. Hey, I've been thinking."

"Uh-oh."

"Funny, Luke. Anyway, since my parents have commandeered Friday, we need to find a new night for date night."

"How about Saturday night?"

"Well, it's all right for fighting."

"What?"

"It's a song, Luke."

"Of course it is."

"Amazing. After almost fifteen years of living with me, you're still culturally inept. I have failed miserably."

"And yet you keep on trying."

"What can I say? I'm persistent." At that moment, she heard Reid's loud cry from the living room and stood to investigate. She found Reid curled up at one end of the sofa, sobbing, while Will sat at the other end and stared mutinously at his brother. "What happened?" Lorelai asked.

"He hit me," Reid whined, pointing at Will.

"After he took Spot," Will said, holding his stuffed dog closer.

"Okay, Will, you shouldn't hit anyone no matter what they do, and Reid, you shouldn't take other people's things without asking."

"I did ask!"

"And I said no!"

"Okay, you need permission from that person," Lorelai amended. "Now, up to bed, both of you!"

"But it's Friday night!" Will whined.

"And we didn't finish that movie," Reid added.

"I don't care. You know the rules of fighting."

"But Mom-" Will began.

"Don't 'but Mom' me. Up to bed. Both of you." Grudgingly, Will slid off the couch and began to trudge to the stairs. Reid, however, remained on the couch, crossing his arms defiantly.

"I not goin'," he announced.

"Oh, yes, you are," Lorelai told him.

"No!"

"Don't make me spank you." Despite Lorelai's warning, Reid remained on the couch, staring at her. With a sigh, Lorelai grabbed his shoulder and flipped him over so she could bring her hand down on his butt with a resounding smack. Immediately, he began to cry, but Lorelai forced herself to remain firm. "Bed. Now," she told him.

"Fine!" He scrambled off the couch and up the stairs. Lorelai waited until she heard the bedroom door slam shut behind him before rejoining Luke in the kitchen. He looked up as she walked in.

"Problems?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for all your help," she remarked sarcastically.

"I figured you could handle it."

"I hate spanking the kids."

"It's a necessary evil. They have to learn."

"I know. It just feels wrong."

For once, Lorelai did not wake early the next morning to run to the bathroom. Her doctor had given her new anti-nausea pills which seemed to settle her queasy stomach. When she opened her eyes, she saw Luke digging through one of the dresser drawers. "Those are mine," Lorelai muttered as he pulled out a pair of light blue jeans.

"All of these are yours," Luke said.

"That's because you're in my drawer. Open the one above it."

Luke did as she asked and quickly found one of his own pairs of pants. "Thanks," he said, pulling them on quickly.

"No problem."

"Emma's got a game at 1:00 and Will's got one at 3:00," Luke reminded her as he bent over to kiss her. He lingered for a moment before pulling away.

"You coming at all?" Lorelai questioned.

"I can't. I promised to give Caesar the morning and afternoon off if he would close for me tonight."

"So I guess you're going to need help with the breakfast and lunch rushes then?"

"I can handle them."

"Are you saying you don't want to see me?"

"I always want to see you."

"Good. Because I think you look cute in that apron."

"I won't deny that."

"I'll see you in a bit then."

"Sounds good." He kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

At 7:30, Lorelai walked into the diner with all five kids trailing behind her in various stages of wakefulness. Rory was reasonably chipper, and the boys were similarly awake. Ellie, however, still appeared to be half-asleep, and Emma looked like she was catatonic. Emma dropped into a chair at a corner table and fell asleep leaning against the wall. Ellie took a seat across from her and put her head on her arms. Rory immediately joined her father in the kitchen as Lorelai grabbed her apron. "You're early," Luke remarked, emerging from the kitchen.

"Well, somebody woke me up, and I couldn't get back to sleep."

"Sorry." He pecked her lightly on the lips in greeting.

"That's okay. Reid and Will would've gotten me up soon after that anyway."

"True. These go to that man over there."

"Table five. Got it."

Luke groaned. "Last time you tried to number my tables, you couldn't ever get the right food to the right people."

"But I've devised a better system now."

"Just take this to that table and don't give it a number. Please!"

"Fine. One boring plate of eggs and bacon to the boring, numberless table."

A few minutes later, Luke felt a sharp tug on his pants leg. Looking down, he saw his sons standing next to him, looking up at him expectantly. "How many times have I told you guys not to come in here?"

"Sorry, Daddy, but there's a man out there who wants to talk to you," Will said. Sighing, Luke set down his spatula and followed Will and Reid to a small table in the corner. Their duty completed, both boys disappeared, leaving Luke staring at a man he had not seen in thirteen years. Though the man was older, the angular face, cocky upturning of the lips, and defiant green eyes gave away his identity immediately.

"What the hell are you doing here, Christopher?" Luke asked in a low growl. His fingers unconsciously curled inward.

"I was just passing through on some business," Chris said calmly, ignoring the enraged glint in Luke's eyes. "I thought I'd stop by for some coffee and maybe see my daughter."

"Does Lorelai know you're here?" A loud crash followed Luke's words, and Chris's smile grew wider.

"She does now," he announced, waving calmly.

"Christopher, what the hell are you doing here?" Lorelai inquired in a voice which clearly demanded an answer.

"I'd like to see my daughter."

"It's been thirteen years. You want to see her now?" Lorelai asked.

"Look, Lor, I'm finally ready. I have a steady job, a large sum of money saved up, and I want to be a good father."

"Unfortunately, you're sixteen years too late."

At that moment, Rory walked out of the kitchen. "Dad?" she called. Both Chris and Luke looked over, but Chris soon returned his eyes to the table when he realized Rory was not referring to him.

"I'm coming," Luke said, knowing what she needed before she asked.

"She calls him Dad," Chris observed as Luke left.

"She did the last time you were here, too," Lorelai reminded him.

"I just thought it might have changed since she's older."

"Why would it have? Luke's been there her whole life. He's her father as far as I'm concerned and as far as she's concerned."

"So where does this leave me?"

Lorelai sighed and glanced back at the kitchen. "Come over to the house tomorrow afternoon around 1:00 or 2:00. You can talk to Rory then, and we'll let her decide. Okay?"

"Okay. But I'm going to need the address."

"I'll bring it to you in a minute. There are other customers."

"Bring me a cup of coffee while you're at it."

A few minutes later, Lorelai returned with Chris's coffee and a sheet of paper with directions. "So you're waitressing now," Chris remarked as he took a sip.

"Only when Luke needs the help. I actually run an inn outside of town."

"The Independence Inn?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"That's where I'm staying."

"Well, I'll see you around then."

"You definitely will. By the way, tell Luke he makes great coffee." Chris drained the last of the liquid from his mug and stood up. "Bye, Lor," he said, placing a couple bills on the table before leaving.

"What did he want?" Luke questioned from behind Lorelai. He began to wipe down the table automatically.

"He told me you make great coffee."

"And?"

"He wants to see Rory."

"Oh."

"He is her father, Luke."

Luke grunted. "Could've fooled me."

"I'm going to let her decide if she wants to see him or not. It's the only fair thing to do."

Luke sighed. "I guess you're right," he conceded.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. "Thank you for being so understanding," she said before kissing him again. She pulled away only slightly so she could whisper in his ear, "And just so you know, you'll always be Rory's real father in her eyes and in mine."

Luke smiled. "That's good to hear." He pulled out of her embrace, and Lorelai left to join Reid and Will who were valiantly attempting to take the order of a rather bemused customer.

By around 8:30, Emma and Ellie had perked up somewhat, and they helped their parents make it through the worst of the breakfast rush. As business began to slow, Lorelai sent Emma, Ellie, and Will home while she left to check on a few things at the inn, promising to return in plenty of time to take them to their respective games. When she walked in, an irate Michel glanced up at her from the front desk. "Oh, good, you are here. You need to call a plumber; the toilet in 214 is stopped up again. And the guests in room 107 still think we have ghosts. They want to call a psychic. People are being especially stupid today, and they are giving me a headache." As if proving his point, a boisterous, red-headed woman chose that moment to enter the lobby.

"Oh, goo, you're here Mrs. Danes. I was just telling your charming concierge here that I have a psychic friend who's very well-known in her field." She lowered her voice. "I'm not sure if he understood me. Does he speak English?"

"Unfortunately," Lorelai answered grimly.

"Well, I took the liberty of writing down my friend's name and number. You should really call her. Everyone's looking for something sensational these days, so the number of reservations will probably skyrocket if your inn is haunted."

"Thanks. I'll look into it," Lorelai said, politely accepting the name and number.

Unfortunately, Lorelai's short trip to the inn turned into an hour and a half long excursion as problems continued to crop up. When she finally walked into the house, Emma was standing by the door in her uniform, tapping her foot impatiently. "Sorry," Lorelai apologized. "I just got caught up."

"We need to leave now," Emma informed her mother.

"I know, I know. Where are Will and Ellie?"

"In the living room. They're waiting for you."

"Can you get them while I use the restroom?"

"Fine. But hurry up."

Despite Emma's complaining, they still made it to the field before Emma's warm-up began. The stands were still relatively empty, so the Danes family had their choice of seats. Will naturally chose to sit at the front, and the rest of the family followed his lead. Ellie immediately opened her book and began to read while Will and Reid began to dig through the bag of toys that their mother had brought. Lorelai played with them for a few minutes before glancing at the field. Emma was up to bat, so Lorelai caught her daughter's eye, screwing up her face and sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. Emma returned the expression before turning to the pitcher with a smile. Lorelai had used the same face countless times before. She used it as a way to cheer her kids up and a reminder that she was there for them and always would be. Although silly and childish, making that face had nevertheless become an important family tradition. It was Lorelai's unique way of showing she cared, and she was proud of her kids.

Emma's team unfortunately lost, but Will's won, and he spent the entire ride back to his father's diner giving an excited play-by-play. "You knew we were there, right?" Emma finally asked, interrupting him in the middle of a sentence. He paused for a moment, considering her question.

"Yeah, I know," he remarked before continuing unfazed. Sighing, Emma turned away from him to stare glumly out the window.

Rory greeted them with a smile when they walked into the diner before continuing to bus the table at which she stood. "Has the slave driver kept m y poor baby working all day?" Lorelai inquired.

"He tried to get me to go home before lunch," Rory told her mother. "But I didn't want to leave him here alone, so I stayed. My homework load is pretty light this weekend anyway, and I finished a lot of it yesterday."

"Well, if you want to finish now, I can take over here."

"Sure. Need me to take anyone home?"

"Just take whoever wants to go." Rory nodded and passed the rag she was holding to her mother before kissing Lorelai's cheek and leaving with Emma and Will trailing behind her. Leaving Reid and Ellie under the watchful eye of Babette, Lorelai entered the kitchen to find Luke standing at the oven with his back facing Lorelai. "You know, you look mighty good flipping those burgers," Lorelai said in a low, sultry tone.

Turning, Lorelai set his spatula aside and leaned in to give her a rather heated kiss. "How did the games go?" he asked.

"Emma lost, Will won."

"She's going to be in a bad mood for a couple days."

"Look on the bright side. She always works harder after a loss."

"True. Though I bet she's killed Will by now since he's probably retelling everything that happened at his game. Again."

"Rory can keep them under control."

"We hope."

At that moment, Ellie came racing into the kitchen. "Daddy, can I help you cook? Please!" she begged.

"Fine. Just be careful," Luke warned. He helped her prepare the buns for the burgers as Lorelai sidled out of the kitchen.

Shortly before 7:00, Luke emerged from the kitchen, catching Lorelai's eye as she refilled a couple drinks. She soon joined him and Elli in the corner of the diner, stopping to extract Reid from Babette's clutches. As they left, Luke's arm moved around her shoulders, and she snuggled closer to his side as Reid cuddled against her opposite shoulder, sucking on his thumb contentedly. Ellie walked on Luke's other side, and his large hand rested on her shoulder.

Rory's friend, Lane, was already at the house when Lorelai and Luke arrived home. The two girls had agreed to watch the kids for the night, for both were eager to earn a little extra cash. After changing, Luke started to go through the rules and emergency procedures with Rory, but she quickly assured him, "We've got it handled, Dad."

"Okay. Just call your mom's cell if you need anything."

"Aren't you afraid of radiation poisoning?"

"I'm more afraid of something happening to one of you guys."

"Aww, how sweet."

Shaking his head, Luke kissed her forehead. "I love you, kiddo."

"Love you, too, Dad," Rory said. Luke left the kitchen and called up the stairs to tell Lorelai to hurry up. She came rushing down, still pulling in earrings, just as Luke finished kissing his other children goodbye. Quickly, Lorelai gathered her purse and gave all of the kids a short kiss. Luke was already standing by the door holding out her jacket. Lorelai slipped her arms into the sleeves, and they called a final goodbye to the kids.

They stopped by the diner, and Lorelai waited in the car as Luke went in, emerging a couple minutes later with three takeout containers. He placed these in the floorboard of the seat behind them before starting the truck up again and pulling out onto the empty road. Lorelai pestered him with questions about their final destination, but he flatly refused to answer. Eventually, he pulled to the side of the road and walked to the passenger's side to open the door for Lorelai. After retrieving a box from the back into which he placed the takeout containers, Luke placed on arm around Lorelai's waist and led her through a small wooded area. As they walked, Lorelai slowly began to realize where they were. Her suspicions were confirmed when they reached a large lake. The area was truly beautiful; the water shimmered slightly in the moonlight, and the stars were clearly visible overhead. Luke stopped near the side of the lake and extracted a blanket from the box he was carrying. He also pulled two candles in holders from the box and lit them before placing at a safe distance from the blanket. After allowing Lorelai to sit down, he took a seat beside her, opening the take-out containers to reveal a number of tacos. Lorelai laughed and kissed him soundly. "It's amazing how you always know exactly what I want," she told him.

He shrugged. "It's a gift," he said.

"Thank God for small favors." Lorelai began to eagerly devour the tacos, barely pausing to breathe. Shaking his head, Luke also began to eat, taking his time. After a few minutes, Lorelai swallowed the last bite of her sixth taco and sat back with one hand on her stomach. "Ugh, I'm so full it feels like my stomach's about to burst," Lorelai complained. "Why did you let me eat so much, Luke?"

"Why am I always blamed when you eat too much?"

"Because I'm pregnant, so I can't control my eating habits. Since you're my husband and the reason for this pregnancy, that's your job."

"Of course. How could I have forgotten?" he asked dryly.

"I don't know," Lorelai answered, smiling broadly as she leaned forward to kiss him. Forgetting the tacos, he wrapped his arms around her body, gently lowering her to the ground as they continued to kiss. Deftly, Luke's hands moved down her shoulders, removing her jacket. The night was chilly, but the chills Lorelai felt did not come because of the cold. In fact, she felt perfectly warm in Luke's arms—warm, safe, and comfortable. She belonged in those large, muscular arms. It was the only place she had ever truly felt at home.

As the kisses grew more heated, Luke struggled to kick off his shoes. Wrapping her legs around him, Lorelai wedged her toes into the heels and managed to pry the shoes off his feet. His shirt was soon thrown to the side followed closely by Lorelai's dress. Their desire was so strong that it was palpable, and it hung above them like a blanket, stifling all other thoughts from their minds. Roaming hands and lips sought pleasure for both, and they soon became slaves of passion.

After awhile, they lay on their sides, facing each other, so close that their noses were touching. Lorelai's hands traced the lines on his torso which formed a map of his formidable muscles, a map that she had long since memorized but still loved to explore. His hands moved over her back, rubbing the soft skin soothingly. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he told her, moving his hands lower. As they slid over her buttocks and thighs, the breath caught in her throat.

"Do you think the kids have destroyed the house yet?" she wondered aloud, attempting to ignore his hands which were languorously exploring her backside.

"Give them another hour or so."

"Trust me, they don't need that long."

Luke smiled as he circled his hands to the front, running them over her inner thighs. "Do you want to go home then?" One finger reached the top of her thigh, and he tickled the sensitive skin he found there.

"God, no," Lorelai said, gasping as her fingers grabbed his shoulders.

"That's what I thought." His finger still moved over her thigh, teasing her.

"How do you always know exactly what I want?" Lorelai asked again.

"Oh, is this what you want?" he countered as he continued his teasing.

"Luke!"

"What?" His smile was huge, an expression Lorelai wished she saw more often.

"You're mean," she pouted.

"Am I?" At long last, his finger reached her opening and slid inside just as he leaned over to kiss her soundly. Her grip on his shoulders lightened as he moved his finger deeper inside of her.

"Mmm, much nicer," she muttered as he pulled his lips away.

"You still sure you don't want to go home? We may be able to save the house."

"Screw the house."

"Interesting choice of words."

An hour later, Luke was lying on his back, staring at the stars. Lorelai was sprawled across his chest with one leg slung across his and her body pressed as close to his as possible. One of his arms rested beneath his head, acting as a temporary pillow while the other arm held her close to his side. A slight breeze began to stir, and she snuggled closer to him, enjoying his warmth. The candles had blown out, so the two were bathed only in the light from the moon and stars, giving them a strange aura. The scene looked like something from an old painting; the only difference was the movement of Luke's hand across Lorelai's back. "We are eventually going to have to get up," Luke said, ever the realist.

"Mmm, eventually," Lorelai said, feeling too content and relaxed to move. Luke kissed the top of her head.

"Let's get up before we both fall asleep," he suggested.

"Fine." Lorelai heaved a large sigh and untangled herself. Both dressed before gathering everything they had brought and heading back to the car.

When they entered the house, they found Rory on the couch, fast asleep. Across from her, Lane had curled up in the large armchair and had also fallen asleep. Setting the box he was carrying in the kitchen, Luke walked back into the living room and gently lifted Rory into his arms. As he carried her to her room, the floor creaked beneath his shoe. Although Rory did not awake, Lane began to stir. Kneeling in front of her daughter's friend, Lorelai whispered, "Does your mother know you're here?"

"Yeah. She thinks I'm spending the night," Lane answered groggily.

"Okay. Are you taking the spare bed in Rory's room?" Lane nodded, yawning as she rose to her feet. When they reached Rory's room, Luke was carefully pulling a blanket over his oldest daughter. She moved, snuggling deeper beneath the blanket, and Luke softly kissed her forehead. Once Lane was also settled, Lorelai and Luke headed for their own bedroom.

At 1:00 the next afternoon, Rory was sitting on the couch in the living room, ostensibly studying . However, her eyes continued to roam to the front door. Her mother had told her earlier in the day that Chris was coming, and she was still apprehensive about meeting him. When the doorbell rang, she quickly closed her book and stood to answer it, but Will beat her to it. He swung the door open to reveal Chris who wore a huge smile. "Well, hello there," Chris greeted, glancing at Will and then back at Rory. "You never told me you had a half-brother, Rory."

"I'm a whole brother," Will argued. Rory smiled.

"It never really came up," she said, shrugging. "Chris, this is Will. Will, this is Mr. Hayden."

"He can call me Chris," Chris said, trying valiantly to hide his hurt when she called him by his first name.

"Come on in, Chris," Rory offered politely. Chris followed her into the kitchen where Emma, Ellie, and Lorelai all sat, trying to put a puzzle together, a task which Ellie loved but Emma and Lorelai had no patience for. When she saw Chris, Lorelai stood and greeted him with a smile.

"I guess you've met Will," Lorelai observed. "This is Ellie an Emma. Girls, this is Christopher Hayden, Rory's biological father."

"But I thought Daddy was her daddy," Will said.

"He is. I'll explain when you get older," Lorelai promised.

"It's always when I get older," Will complained, sinking into a chair beside Ellie.

"You want anything to eat or drink, Chris?" Rory offered politely.

"No, thank you."

"Actually, I'm kinda hungry," Lorelai remarked. "Luke, where's that good fruit salad?" she called.

"On the bottom shelf of the fridge in the same place it was the last time you asked," he said, entering the kitchen with Reid in one arm. The small boy was sucking his thumb, an indication he was ready for his nap.

"Fruit?" Chris questioned. "You hate fruit."

"Not so much anymore."

"We go through a few pounds a week when she's pregnant," Luke said. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Pregnant?"

"Yep. About a month and a half."

"Wow. You certainly have a big family."

"Getting better all the time."

"I never really pictured you with a lot of kids."

"With the right person, motherhood's great."

"So you're happy with your life?"

"Immensely." Lorelai accepted the bowl of fruit that Luke held out to her, pecking his lips in thanks. Chris watched the entire exchange a bit sadly.

"Nice to see you again, Chris," Luke said, holding out his free hand. Lorelai had assured him multiple times that Chris was not going to take his place in her or Rory's heart, and Luke had finally begun to stop seeing him as a threat.

"You, too, Luke." Chris shook Luke's hand stiffly.

"You take care of my girl, okay?" Luke said, goading Chris. Lorelai shot her husband a warning look as Chris's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I won't let anything happen to my daughter."

"Good. Bye, Sweetheart. I'll see you in a couple hours." Luke kissed Rory's forehead and left the room to take Reid to his room.

"Have a good time, honey," Lorelai added as she also kissed Rory.

"I'm sure I will. Bye, Mom," Rory said, apprehensively following Chris out of the house.

"Where to first?" he inquired as they walked to the street.

"How about the bookstore?" Rory suggested.

"You like reading?"

"Yeah. I love it."

"That's funny. Your mom was never a big reader."

"She's still not much of one though I can convince her to read sometimes. Dad's actually the one who first gave me a love of reading. He used to read to me every night when I was younger, and he still discusses different classics with me sometimes."

"Luke doesn't really strike me as the intellectual type."

"He's actually very smart. He just doesn't show it too often. But he's read just about every classic, and he'll usually read whatever books I suggest to him."

"So, what else is new?"

"I got into Chilton."

"That's great!"

"Yeah, but it's a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Mom and Dad have been great though. They've helped me study, corrected my papers, and like I said before, Dad will discuss the books I read in English with me."

"How do they have time to do that with four other kids?"

Rory thought for a moment. "I don't really know. They multi-task very well. Sometimes, I think they might have some superpower. All I know is that they gave all of us all the attention we could ever want."

Rory arrived at the house an hour and a half later. She invited Chris inside, and he immediately accepted. When she entered the house, she found it completely empty, but the shouts and laughter coming from the backyard helped her to find her family quickly. She walked into the backyard with Chris trailing behind her and found her family playing baseball. Lorelai looked up from the pitcher's mound when she heard the door open. "Good, Rory's back!" she said. "You can be on our team. We need you. The boys are winning 6-4."

"But then the teams aren't even," Will complained.

"Chris can play with you guys," Rory suggested.

"I don't know," Chris said, eying the players carefully. He had not played baseball since high school; he was not even sure if he remembered how to hold a ball.

"Come on, Chris, none of us are that good. Except maybe Luke and Emma," Lorelai said, tossing the ball to Rory as she walked onto the field.

"Hey!" Will said.

"And Will," Lorelai added.

"Fine. But I warn you, I probably suck."

Chris was right; he truly was an awful baseball player. Still, the boys nearly one thanks to a few spectacular plays by Luke and one amazing home run by Will. In the end, however, the girls won 11-10. As the girls all high-fived, Luke whispered something to Will and Reid who immediately ran over and jumped on their mother. Laughing, Lorelai began to tickle them, and Rory, Emma, and Ellie retaliated by tackling their father to the ground. The backyard was soon filled with shrieks of laughter as the family members began to chase each other around the backyard.

When they all began to grow tired, Lorelai suggested that they should return to the house to watch a movie, a suggestion they all readily agreed to. Somehow, all seven Danes's managed to pile onto the couch, leaving Chris by himself in the armchair. Rory took a seat to Luke's left, leaning against his shoulder, and Lorelai claimed the other side. Emma took the small space to her mother's right, and the three younger ones curled up in their parent's laps. Looking at them, Chris realized exactly what he had lost. Lorelai had found happiness; unfortunately, she had not found it with him.

After the movie, Luke left to begin cooking dinner. Lorelai invited Chris to stay, and he accepted, hoping that he could spend some time with Rory out of Luke's presence and maybe win his daughter's heart back. His hope, however, was short-lived, for Rory stood up and followed Luke into the kitchen to help him cook. Ellie approached Chris cautiously. "Emma says that since you're Rory's biological father, that means you and Mommy had sex. Is that true?" she asked.

"That was a long time ago," Lorelai quickly told her youngest daughter.

"Oh. Do you love Chris then?"

"Not anymore."

"Then why did you have sex?"

"It's complicated."

"Why?"

"Why don't you go help your father in the kitchen," Lorelai suggested. As Ellie left, she looked up at Chris, embarrassed. "Sorry. We just had the talk."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you fielded those questions."

Emma left to finish her homework, and Will and Reid convinced Lorelai to play hide-and-go-seek with them. Chris opted out of the game, choosing instead to join Luke, Rory, and Ellie in the kitchen. Rory was stirring a pot of pasta while Luke made the sauce with help from Ellie. As they worked, Luke and Rory would call out various words which Ellie would promptly spell. "I never knew you could make cooking an intellectual exercise," Chris commented.

"With these two, everything becomes an intellectual exercise," Luke said, pointing to his daughters. "I believe the conversation in the car coming back from the Gilmores Friday night was about Chaucer."

"Chaucer?"

"_Canterbury Tales,_" Rory said without hesitation.

"Sorry. It's been awhile since I had an English class."

"I understand that feeling," Luke agreed.

"Hey, we're out of cheese," Rory remarked, looking up from the fridge.

"I just bought some."

"Yeah, but Mom's been eating it. It's one of her weird cravings."

"And she's going to complain when the pasta doesn't have any." Luke said knowingly, sighing. "Damn. I was trying to make something that I knew she would like."

"The best laid plans of mice and men. . ." Rory began.

"Oft do go awry," Ellie finished. "Robert Burns."

"Think you can handle things in here for a few minutes while I run to Doose's? Luke asked Rory.

"You're going to trust me alone in your precious kitchen?"

"Better you than your mother."

"I'm going to tell her you said that."

"I'll see you in a few minutes, Benedict." He kissed both his daughters goodbye before leaving through the back door.

"So, Chris, want to help cook?" Rory offered.

"I'd actually prefer to watch," Chris said, sitting at the table. "I've always been a disaster in the kitchen."

"You can't be worse than Mom. She actually blew up the microwave once. Dad won't let her touch anything in the kitchen now," Rory recalled.

"I still think I'll stay here where it's safe," Chris said.

After dinner, Luke started to clean up the dishes, but Lorelai stopped him by placing a hand on his chest when he reached for her plate. "We have this argument every night, Luke."

"I don't mind cleaning up."

"You cook. I do the dishes." Rising to her feet, she kissed him soundly on the lips. The kids, who had all grown accustomed to their parents' frequent displays of affection, simply rolled their eyes and began to pile their plates in the sink. Christopher, however, grew increasingly uncomfortable as the kiss lengthened. When they finally pulled apart, both wore giddy smiles. "Go keep an eye on the kids, mister," Lorelai said, slapping Luke's butt playfully.

"Yes ma'am," he said as he left the kitchen. Lorelai turned to the sink and began to run hot water into it.

"You seem close," Chris observed.

"Who?" Lorelai asked.

"You and Luke."

"Well, we have been married almost fifteen years."

"Yeah. I figured some of the romance might have died by now."

"Oh, it's still alive and well. Trust me."

"That would deserve one of your infamous dirty comments."

"It certainly would."

"Why him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you reject me and then marry him a year and a half later."

"I didn't love you, Chris. I love Luke."

"But why? What does he have that I don't?"

"He's smart, caring, absolutely devoted, dependable, a loving father, a great cook, handsome, honest, hard-working, and so much more. He's the perfect person for me because he complements me. We work great together. And I could not imagine spending a minute without him."

"You really love him?"

"Always and forever."

At that moment, the boys burst into the kitchen. "Play with us, Mommy!" they implored, widening their eyes in mock innocence.

"What happened to Daddy?" Lorelai asked.

"He's right here," Luke said, walking up behind them. "And he's already playing with them."

"Sorry guys. I have to go check on your sisters," Lorelai said.

Immediately, both boys turn to Chris. "Play with us and Daddy!"

"I don't know. . ." Chris began.

"Please!"

"Okay, but just for a little bit."

When Lorelai opened the door to Emma and Ellie's room, she found both girls lying in bed studying. "That's my studious girls,' Lorelai remarked.

"I have a test tomorrow," Emma told her mother.

"I have a spelling bee," Ellie said.

"We could always start the study game if you want," Lorelai suggested, referring to a game she and Luke had created a couple years before when quizzing their kids for upcoming tests. Essentially, Lorelai would ask one kid a question about what she was studying. If she answered correctly, she would receive a point. If not, her siblings would have a chance to answer. If one of them answered correctly, she would receive the point instead. Lorelai would alternate between the girls studying so each one received an equal number of turns; whoever had the most points at the end was the winner.

"What's he prize?" Emma asked.

"You can pick the movie for our next movie night," Lorelai said.

"I'm in," Emma said.

"Me, too," Ellie agreed.

"Okay, let's just see if Rory wants to play."

Emma groaned. "But she always wins."

"We'll give her a handicap."

"Fine," Emma agreed.

An hour later, all four Danes girls were in the kitchen studying when Luke walked in with Reid in one arm and Will in the other. All three were covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Chris followed close behind in a similar state. Lorelai looked up at them and cocked an eyebrow. "What were you three doing?" she inquired.

"Playing tag," Luke answered, shifting Reid's weight to reach up and grab a couple cups from the cabinet.

"In the dark?" Lorelai asked.

"It was flashlight tag," Will told her. Luke set him on his feet to fill up the cups with water. He handed one to Will and the other to Reid before also filling one for himself and a sippy cup for Reid. Picking up both boys again, Luke collapsed into a chiar with them in his lap.

"Study game?" Luke asked, observing the scene before him.

"Yeah. 435, by the way," Rory said, answering Lorelai's previous question.

"Correct. Emma, what breaks down glucose in cells?"

"Mitochondria," Emma answered quickly.

"What's the prize?" Luke questioned.

"Right to pick the movies at the next movie night."

"I don't get any say in that?"

"Maybe the winner will let you choose one."

"You can pick one if I win, Daddy," Ellie agreed.

"Thanks, Sweetheart," Luke said with a weak smile. "Oh, god, I'm tired," he moaned, shifting in his seat. Will gave a noise of protest and squirmed slightly to find a comfortable position again.

"Getting old, hun?" Lorelai asked.

"I think we've proved I'm not," he remarked with a suggestive smirk.

"Really? I don't remember that being proven satisfactorily." Lorelai's lips curved upward, and her eyebrows rose.

"I think I'm the one who's getting old," Chris groaned, oblivious to the suggestive subtest of their conversation. "I had to stop half an hour ago. Those little guys have a lot of energy."

"That they do," Lorelai agreed. "They take after their father."

"I'm going to give them a bath," Luke announced, rising to his feet suddenly, looking accusingly at Lorelai who shrugged.

"You started it," she told him.

"Touché." Leaning over, he pecked her lips. "I'll see what I can do about proving my age tonight," he whispered as he pulled away.

"I warn you, it's going to take a lot to convince me."

"I'll see what I can do."

As Luke left the room, Lorelai turned back to her daughters. "Okay, fifteen more minutes, and then we'll call it quits for the night," she said.

In twenty minutes, Lorelai declared Emma the winner, and the girls all gathered their books and left to prepare for bed. "Goodnight, Chris," Rory said as she left.

"Goodnight, Rory," Chris said, nodding to his daughter. When the girls had left, Chris turned to Lorelai and said, "I have a slight problem."

"What did you do now, Chris?" Lorelai questioned as his eyes narrowed.

"It's more what I didn't do."

"And that is. . ."

"Well, you probably know your inn is completely booked for tonight."

"Sure. We have a wedding tomorrow."

"Well, I didn't book one of those rooms."

"So where are you staying?"

"That's kind of my problem."

Lorelai sighed. "Let me talk to Luke. You can probably have the couch for the night."

"Thanks, Lor. I appreciate this."

After finishing the boys' bedtime story with Luke, Lorelai kissed them goodnight and grabbed a couple blankets and a pillow out of the hall closet. She took these items down to Chris who thanked her with a smile. Next, Lorelai knocked on Rory's door. "Don't stay up late, hon," Lorelai told her oldest daughter.

"I know. Dad just came in to tell me that."

"Good for him. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom."

After saying goodnight to her other two daughters, Lorelai joined Luke in their bedroom. "So Chris is staying the night," he said.

"He is," Lorelai confirmed.

"How did he go from having no part in Rory's life to practically living with us?"

"He'll be gone by tomorrow. That's what Chris does. He comes, he screws things up, and he leaves again."

"But he hasn't screwed anything up yet."

"He's got all night. Now, I believe you promised to prove something," she remarked as she began to unbutton his flannel.

"Shouldn't we wait until the girls are in bed?"

"Just consider this a test of how quiet we can be."


	7. Chapter 7

As Lorelai tossed Luke's boxers away a few minutes later, she heard the click of the door opening. Both Luke and Lorelai froze with Luke hovering above Lorelai, supporting himself with his elbows and knees. "You didn't lock the door?" he hissed.

"I forgot," Lorelai whispered.

"Lorelai?" Chris asked, stepping into the room. Luke and Lorelai immediately scrambled to cover themselves with the sheet, but the damage was done. Chris's mouth dropped open when he saw the two, and he began to stammer. "I-I was just lo-looking for another pillow. But I don't need it all that much. Goodnight." As he quickly left, Lorelai sighed and scrambled out of bed, donning her pajama pants and Luke's discarded flannel. Grabbing a pillow, Lorelai brought it to Chris downstairs, and he gave her a muttered, "Thanks."

"No problem."

"I didn't mean to interrupt. I just didn't realize you'd be. . . doing that."

"We have five kids. The stork didn't bring them, Chris."

"Four," Chris corrected automatically.

"What?"

"You only have four kids. Rory's mine, not Luke's."

"Look, Chris, do we really have to have this argument again?"

"I was just saying. . ."

"Chirs, just let it go. Goodnight."

"Night," he muttered.

Chris offered to give Rory a ride to school the next morning, but she politely declined, telling him that she preferred to take the bus, for it provided her with extra reading time. Chris seemed hurt, and Luke silently cheered, relishing his most recent victory.

"Okay, then I'll probably get going," Chris said. "Bye Lor. Bye Rory. I'll see you two around. I might be back to visit soon."

"Just don't be a stranger, Chris," Lorelai told him, giving him a quick hug.

"I'll see you sometime, Chris," Rory added, also hugging him quickly. As Chris walked away, he turned to take a final look at the house. Rory and Lorelai were still standing in the front hallway, and Luke had joined them, bringing Reid and Ellie with him. All five were laughing at some private joke, and Chris immediately noticed the familiar sparkle in Lorelai's eyes. With a pang of regret, he realized that he had once been able to cause that sparkle. But she had moved on, found someone else who made her happy, and effectively shut Chris out of her life forever. She always claimed that he had run from her, but as far as Chris was concerned, Lorelai had done the running. She had sprinted right from his arms and into Luke's. It was typical Lorelai—afraid of commitment, bored with the same guy.

_She's been with Luke for more than fifteen years,_ a voice in the back of his head sneered. _Only because she doesn't know her options,_ another voice quickly countered. _As soon as you show her what she's missing with the diner guy, they'll be divorced in no time._

"We survived," Lorelai said, pecking her husband on the lips.

"I guess. Chris didn't seem too happy," Luke noted.

"Well, _someone _kept insulting him."

"I didn't mean to," Luke defended. "I just don't like the guy."

"I'm not his biggest fan either, but we still have to deal with him. Luckily, he's made sure that we only deal with him once in awhile."

"Thank God for small favors."

Rory left for the bus a couple minutes later, and Luke walked with her not because she might be hurt but because she already was hurt—hurt that her biological father had left and seemed uninterested in her for the entire visit. She needed comfort that only Luke could provide, assurance he would always be there for her as her father never was. Luke happily provided this assurance, asking about her classes, her English test, the teachers, and anything else he could think of. He listened intently to her answers, even her rant about the kids at school, and he made the occasional comment to assure her that he was listening. He waited with her until the bus came, and Rory gave him a tight hug before leaving. "I'll see you soon. Thank you, Daddy." The childish address slipped naturally from Rory's mouth, and it warmed Luke's insides to hear it, for it indicated that she had forgotten Chris's disinterest. Luke was her father—the person who had always been there for her, the one who knew her greatest fears and dreams, the one who listened to her like she was an adult, the one who placed her first in his life.

After ensuring that Will, Ellie, and Emma got onto the bus safely, Lorelai took Reid with her to the inn. The first person she encountered was an extremely irritated Michel. "You know the wedding this weekend?"

"If you mean the one for the twins from hell, duh! I'm planning it."

"Well, you will be happy to know the grooms are here."

"That's good." Lorelai turned to see what Michel was staring at. Two excited blond women in their early twenties were running toward two men around their age who had just walked into the lobby. The men were identical from their close-cropped brown hair to their aquiline features. "No," Lorelai muttered.

"Oh, yes," Michel said with a malicious grin as the girls threw themselves into their fiancés' arms with identical squeals.

"That's just creepy. I mean, how do they know which one belongs to which?"

"How should I know?"

"And if one sister sleeps with the other's husband, are they cheating?"

"Mommy, I bored," Reid complained, reminding Lorelai of his presence.

"Okay, buddy, let's go get some toys from Mommy's desk."

As soon as Lorelai set Reid up behind the front desk with some of his toys, she began to go through some of the inn's reservations, checking to ensure that all the information was accurate and up-to-date. She knew she should be with the brides-to-be and their mother, discussing the details for the upcoming wedding, but she wanted to avoid that hassle as long as possible.

"Hello again, Lorelai," a voice suddenly said. Startled, Lorelai looked up from the computer to see a man with short black hair, sharp features, and an impeccably tailored suit. It took Lorelai a moment to place him.

"Ian Jack, right?" she finally remembered. "From Chilton?"

"So you did remember. I was worried you wouldn't."

"Well, I did." In fact, Lorelai distinctly recalled their previous meeting and his shameless flirting. His dazzling smile told her that he was planning on picking up where he had previously left off, and Lorelai automatically began to play with her hair, turning her hand so her wedding ring was completely visible. Unfortunately, he did not take the hint.

"I didn't know you worked here."

"I'm the Executive Manager. What brings you here?"

"My nieces are getting married."

"Really?" Lorelai asked, recalling her feelings for his nieces.

"Yeah. They seem to grow up so fast."

"They do." Since messing with her hair was not working, Lorelai changed tactics. She placed her left hand on the desk right in front of him and moved her fingers up and down a couple times, allowing her rings to click loudly against the wood of the desk. Still, he was oblivious.

"So, do you want to have lunch or something?"

"Sorry, I already have plans." She was about to add, "With my husband" when the phone rang. "Excuse me. Independence Inn. Lorelai speaking," she greeted the caller.

"You'll be happy to know I actually got our daughter to smile before she left today," Luke's voice said.

"That's great! Good to see Chris didn't call irreparable damage."

"Have I told you lately how much I hate that guy?"

"I'm perfectly aware of your feelings."

"I mean, I don't know how he can keep callously abandoning her like that. Rory's sensitive, and I know it hurts her that he's not there. I can tell she blames herself even though she's the most blameless person of all of us. I can't understand how a father can just crush his daughter like that. How heartless do you have to be?"

"I'm not sure if Chris realizes what he's doing."

"Are you defending him?"

"Of course not."

"Could've fooled me."

"Look, what Chris did was wrong. Actually, pretty much everything Chris has done with regards to Rory has been wrong. He's not a good father, and I'm happy that I didn't marry him. He's an ass, but I don't think it's entirely his fault."

"Whose is it then?" Luke snapped.

"His parents? The society he grew up in? I don't really know. Can we please not get into this right now? I have enough problems as it is."

Luke's tone immediately softened. "Sorry. Kirk was just in here, and he always puts me in a bad mood. And Chris is a sore subject anyway."

"I know. Why don't we talk about something happier.

"Like what?"

"Rory's birthday is in a few weeks."

"Her sixteenth."

"It seems like just yesterday that she was holding a funeral for a caterpillar, doesn't it?" Lorelai asked.

"She'll be off to college soon."

"Too soon. Fortunately, we still have some holding on." Lorelai smiled fondly at Reid who was banging his toy car against the floor. Her hand spread across her stomach.

"True. It will be awhile before we have the house to ourselves."

"Too bad. That could be interesting. What about summer camp?"

"No camp pact, remember?"

"Right. Well, Emma and Will both wanted to go last year without any prodding from us. Maybe we can subtly convince the others that it'll be fun."

"I doubt it. Besides, Reid's too young for camp, and the new baby certainly won't be going to camp anytime soon."

"Okay, Mr. Realist, just rain on my parade."

"Someone has to bring reality to this relationship."

"You can handle that. I'll handle the fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah. For example, once we have no kids in the house, I'm implementing a no-clothes pact. We'll both walk around the house completely naked."

"In what alternate universe am I actually agreeing to that?"

"Maybe you'll become less uptight in your old age."

"Or maybe I'll just run into Spock."

"Ha! I knew you were a Trekkie."

"Beam me up, Scottie," he remarked dryly.

"Can you do the hand signal?"

"My fingers aren't that flexible."

"I know from experience that they're plenty flexible."

"Dirty."

"I have you trained so well."

"Look, I need to go. There are customers waiting."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye." As Luke hung up the phone, he walked from behind the counter and approached the man at the nearest table. Immediately, Luke pegged him as an out-of-towner, for he wore a well-made navy blue suit which seemed much too fancy for lunch at the diner. "What can I get you?" Luke inquired.

"Turkey and Swiss on wheat," the man said, folding his menu. "And I'd also like a conversation with the owner of this place."

"You're talking to him."

"Oh." The man glanced over Luke's figure, letting his eyes linger on Luke's old, well-worn blue jeans, flannel shirt, and backwards baseball cap. Luke stared defiantly back, daring the man to insult his appearance. His fingers curled into tight fists. "I'm a friend of Richard Gilmore's," the man finally declared, raising his eyes back to Luke's face.

"I should have known," Luke muttered.

"He mentioned that you might be interested in franchising this. . . establishment. I've done a good deal of work with franchising before, so I thought I might be of some help."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to franchise my diner."

"You should at least consider it. Profits would increase tremendously."

"My profits are fine now."

"They could be better."

"I'm not franchising. Now, do you still want that sandwich?"

"Yes. To go, please."

"It'll be out in a couple minutes."

Noon that day found Lorelai at the diner. She started to grab her apron, but Luke stopped her. "I'm okay for now. Why don't you sit and relax and actually enjoy your lunch break for once?"

"I'd rather enjoy it with you."

"Give me about ten minutes. What do you want to eat?"

"Turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce and tomato. Also, some black olives and onions. And an apple and an orange on the side. God, why do all of your kids have to eat as healthy as you do?"

"They know what's good for them. And their mother. What do you want to drink?"

"Milk, please."

"Coming right up."

Lorelai took a seat at a corner table, contenting herself with staring out the window, people-watching. "It's such a shame to see a beautiful woman like you sitting all by yourself," a now-familiar voice remarked.

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai questioned, feeling a sense of déjà vu wash over her as she looked up at Ian Jack.

"I needed to eat, and this place looked charming. Mind if I join you?"

"I'm meeting someone," Lorelai told him, trying to suppress the image of Luke's reaction when he heard his diner referred to as "charming."

Undeterred, Ian sat down. "I'll wait with you then."

"Really, it's not-"

"Lorelai, we're out of black olives, so I'm going to get some from Doose's," Luke announced as he emerged from the kitchen. Lorelai jumped up from her seat as if burned, but the damage had already been done. Luke stopped in the process of fixing the cuff on his flannel and simply stared at Ian who smiled cheerfully back.

Lorelai quickly scrambled to reduce the tension in the room by introducing the two men. "Luke, this is Ian Jack. His daughter also goes to Chilton. Ian, this is my husband, Luke." Ian's smile faltered slightly.

"You never mentioned you had a husband," Ian said.

"Well, she does," Luke said with his gaze still shooting daggers at Ian. He had begun to twist the button on the sleeve of his flannel, and Lorelai imagined that she would be sewing it back on that nihgt.

"Nice to meet you." Ian's unshakeable smile had returned. Luke merely grunted in reply. Lorelai could see his temper boiling just beneath the surface and decided it would be best to intervene.

Placing a placating hand on his arm, she said, "It was nice to see you again, Ian. Maybe we'll run into each other at parent-teacher meetings sometime." With great difficulty, Lorelai steered Luke away from Ian. She pushed him toward the stairs, and he grudgingly trudged up them to the apartment.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Luke shouted as soon as the door closed. He was too angry to realize that Lorelai was just as innocent as he had been with Kat. Still, the recent visit from Chris had frayed his nerves to the point where the slightest offense set him off.

"Calm down, Luke," Lorelai said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down? You expect me to calm down?" He shook her hand off and began furiously pacing the room. "Every time I turn around, there's another guy hitting on you! It's like you're a damn magnet or something."

"There's no one hitting on me now," Lorelai pointed out, trying to lighten the mood.

"This is not the time for your jokes, Lorelai."

"Sorry. Look, I didn't ask for this, okay?"

"You didn't seem to be doing much to stop it either"

"Of course I was trying to stop it. I-"

"Then why didn't he know you were married?"

"Because I never got a chance to tell him! You're blowing this way out of proportion!"

"Oh, I think it's perfectly in proportion!" Both were screaming at each other by that point, and Lorelai imagined that most of the town was listening, trying to figure out what was going on between the "perfect" couple.

"I think you don't trust me!"

"I think I don't trust him. Besides, it's him you should be with."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Suddenly, all the doubts that had piled up in Luke's brain over the years of Emily's tormenting came spilling out. The flood of words which left his mouth was spurred on by Chris's recent visit and Richard's friend's subtle chiding. "You know, the Hartford businessman. Raised by rich parents to fit into the so-called 'elite' society. The guy who can afford to send his daughter to Chilton. The one who hires servants and buys a house as big as a castle with dozens of rooms he never uses. You should be with someone like that. Like Ian. Or Chris."

"For Chirst's sake, Luke, I've told you that there's nothing going on between me and Chris. There hasn't been since. . . well, take Rory's age and add about nine months."

"Then why were you so quick to defend him earlier? Why do you let him back into your and Rory's life after all he's done?"

"He's her father, Luke!"

"Funny. I thought I was!" With that, he stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Lorelai stared at the closed door for a moment, slightly shell-shocked. When her muscles began to work again, she quickly left the apartment and jogged down the steps. Caesar informed her that Luke had gone to Doose's to pick up a few things, an Lorelai thanked him before leaving the diner. Ian tried to stop her, but she simply brushed him off and continued to stride to the door. At first, she turned toward Doose's, but she topped halfway there. Luke needed time to cool off; they could talk later once both their tempers had cooled.

Lorelai arrived home at 5:00 that night after picking Will and Ellie up from their respective practices. Emma was flipping through the channels on the tv, and Rory was in her room, studying, as usual. At Lorelai's request, Luke had hired a new employee the previous week so that he could eat dinner at home with his family some nights. Of course, after their fight earlier that day, Lorelai was not sure if he would still come home.

When Lorelai poked her head into her eldest daughter's room, Rory looked up and smiled. "I got an A on my English test."

"That's great, Sweets," Lorelai enthused. "I told you that you could do it."

"Thanks to you and Dad."

"And your freakishly massive brain."

"Really, though, thank you for helping."

"I'm always happy to."

Fortunately, Luke was never one to shirk his duties to his family even when mad at Lorelai. Just after 6:00, he came in through the back door, stopping when he saw Lorelai in the kitchen. They stood for a few seconds, both too stubborn to make the first move. Eventually, Luke simply turned away and walked into the next room to greet their kids. Lorelai also left the kitchen with a sigh.

As they sat down to eat that night, Rory announced her English test grade to her father who also congratulated her. The other kids chimed in with storied of their own about school, and Lorelai and Luke listened intently, grateful for the distraction. They did not talk to one another all night, but the kids luckily did not seem to notice. After dinner, Lorelai wordlessly began to wash dishes; for once, Luke did not argue with her. Instead, he left to take care of the kids.

Luke slept on the couch that night, and Lorelai found that she could not fall asleep without his comforting presence beside her. It was cold in her room without his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. The absence of his rhythmic breathing simply made falling asleep harder, for it made the room feel unnatural. She considered walking downstairs and apologizing to him, but her stubborn mind refused to let her. She had done nothing wrong. He had started the argument, so he needed to apologize.

And so the silent fight continued for two days. Lorelai and Luke barely spoke to each other, Luke stopped calling the inn during the day to talk, and Lorelai stopped dropping by the diner on her breaks to help (and playfully annoy) Luke. If the kids noticed, they did not say anything. Luke was careful not to make the trek to the couch until they were already in bed, and he left for the diner each morning before anyone else in the house woke up, returning the pillows and blankets to his bedroom to ensure that he did not arouse suspicions. Both were suffering from lack of sleep; Luke was moodier than usual and snapped at half his customers, and Lorelai was not her usual cheerful, perky self.

On Wednesday night, Luke made an early dinner before donning a suit and tie to attend the parent-teacher meeting at Rory's school. He and Lorelai had decided that they wanted to be involved parents, so he was performing his fatherly duties. As he tightened his tie, he continually reminded himself, _For Rory. This is for Rory_. And with that thought, he left, shouting goodbye to his family as he pulled on an overcoat.

When Luke returned, he walked up to his bedroom to change and found Lorelai flipping through a magazine. "How was it?" she asked automatically. He froze in the middle of unbuttoning his jacket and turned to her. She had not said anything to him all day; he had expected the silent treatment to continue. But if she was reaching out, he could not slap her hand away.

"Not bad," he answered guardedly. "But no one seemed too focused on the school. All the women kept asking about my daughter and the town, and a few asked about my job and my interests."

"Really?" Lorelai was suddenly interested. Were the other moms flirting with her husband? Did they not see the ring on his finger?

"Yeah. I guess they were trying to be nice, but it was so damn annoying."

Lorelai felt a rush of jealousy and suddenly realized what Luke must have felt when he first saw Ian. "I think they were flirting with you, Luke," she told him, watching closely to judge his reaction.

"What? Didn't they realize I'm married?" He looked up, and their eyes met. A silent understanding passed between them. "Sorry," they apologized simultaneously before both their faces broke out into stupid grins. "You know. I might have overreacted a little," Luke admitted.

Lorelai snorted. "A little?" Luke glared at her, and she continued. "Well, I didn't handle the situation well either."

"So we're good?"

"Always and forever." Lorelai stepped closer to him.

"Good. Because that couch is uncomfortable."

"So is sleeping in bed without you."

"So no more fights then?" Luke had moved to lean over her, and Lorelai could feel his hot breath on her lips as she spoke.

"But making up is so much fun," she whispered just as he closed the small distance remaining between them. For a couple minutes, they kissed passionately, and Lorelai slipped the two remaining buttons from their holes in Luke's jacket. He moved them to the door and reached behind Lorelai to lock it. "Good thinking," Lorelai muttered before reattaching her lips to his as she began to unknot his tie. Slowly, Luke steered them toward the bed.

Sometime later, Lorelai lay nestled in Luke's arms, facing him. The sheet had been pushed to the foot of the bed where it lay in a wrinkled heap, leaving most of their naked bodies exposed, but neither one seemed to notice. "We should probably go make sure the girls went to bed," Lorelai remarked without moving.

"You mean _I_ should go make sure the girls went to bed," Luke corrected.

"I could go."

"I'm sure they already have gone to bed. They all follow rules."

"But maybe they're taking advantage of their parents' post-coital state and having a raging party right now."

"You've been studying with Rory again."

"Her vocabulary has a tendency to mix in with mine."

"Should I even ask about the circumstances surrounding her use of that particular word?"

"You probably don't want to know."

"Probably not." They were silent for a few seconds.

"So, do you want to break up the party or should I?" Lorelai finally asked.

"I think we would have heard them by now if they were having a party."

"Unless they invited a bunch of Charlie Chaplin imitators."

"I think we can safely assume they didn't."

"We should still go check."

"You keep saying that, but you haven't moved."

"I'm comfortable."

"How about we both go?"

"I still have to get up."

"We'll come right back."

"Fine. But I'm holding you to that promise." Lorelai grudgingly rolled away from him and stood up. Instead of hunting for her clothes, she grabbed her bathrobe and wrapped it tightly around her body. Luke had already pulled on his jeans and boxers and was searching for his shirt. He finally found a white undershirt which he pulled over his head before following Lorelai out of the room. They first checked in on Ellie and Emma. Both girls were curled up in their beds, breathing steadily. Automatically, Lorelai walked to Emma's bed and straightened her sheet, placing a light kiss on her daughter's forehead. Emma moved slightly but did not wake. Instead, she changed positions so that she was lying on her side with one arm curled next to her body and one spread straight in front of her. Lorelai glanced over at Luke who had tucked Ellie in and was carefully smoothing her hair out of her face. Ellie seemed to unconsciously relax with her father's touch, pulling the stuffed tiger she slept with closer to her body. "I remember that you used to do that exact same thing when she was a baby," Lorelai said, joining him. "Actually, you did it for all the kids."

"Yeah. She was the quietest though."

"She spoiled us."

"And then there was Will."

"I don't think he ever slept."

"I don't think any of us ever slept. Remember when Rory threatened to run away if the crying didn't stop?"

Luke chuckled softly before growing suddenly somber as he remembered what had happened around that time. "Of course, he probably sensed our anxiety around that time," Luke remarked softly.

As always, Lorelai immediately knew what he was talking about. She placed a comforting hand on his upper arm and said, "The doctor assured us that she's in full remission with no signs of leukemia. We've passed the five year mark already, so she's considered cured."

"I know. It's just hard to believe that we nearly lost her."

"But we didn't.' They stood looking down at their youngest daughter for a couple more minutes before Luke leaned down and kissed her temple. After also kissing Emma goodnight, they left the room together. Luke's arm held Lorelai tight against his side as they walked down to Rory's room. "You know, if somebody told me sixteen years ago that I would be happily married with five kids and another on the way, I would have thought they were smoking something,' Lorelai remarked as they descended the stairs.

"If they told me that, I would have known they were smoking something."

"Funny how things change."

"Any regrets?"

"Not one."

"Me, too." Seeing a small slit of light under the door, Luke knocked.

"Come in," Rory called. Luke opened the door to find her sitting at her desk with a text book spread out in front of her and a binder filled with her neat, concise handwriting balanced in her lap.

"Hey, shouldn't you be getting to bed?" Lorelai asked.

"I just want to finish this chapter." Rory glanced over her shoulder at them and noticed how Luke held Lorelai close. "Good. It's about time that you two made up," Rory said.

"How did you know?" Lorelai questioned.

"Well, I got up one night to get a glass of water, and Dad was sleeping on the couch. And you two haven't been as lovey-dovey as usual."

"You're too smart for us, kid," Luke said, walking over and squeezing Rory's shoulder affectionately.

"You'll be happy to know that we did make up. Twice, actually," Lorelai said, grinning suggestively. Luke flushed.

"Eww, gross, Mom!" Rory exclaimed, catching on.

"You should be happy we love each other so much."

"How would you feel if Grandma and Grandpa started telling you all about their sex life?" Rory inquired.

"That's disgusting!"

"Exactly."

"Okay, you made your point," Lorelai conceded. "Lights out as soon as you finish that chapter," she instructed.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Love you," Lorelai said, kissing the top of Rory's head.

"I love you, too," Luke added, also kissing his daughter's head.

"Love you, too, guys."

Saturday morning, Rory burst into her parents' room just as the sun had begun to rise and threw open the shutters, allowing the early morning light to spill into the room. Since it was Saturday morning, Luke was not planning on going for his jog, so he was still asleep. "Wakey, wakey," Rory called as she opened the shutters on the other window. "The Chilton bake sale is today, and since you guys decided to be involved parents, you have to go.

"Luke, your daughter is crazy," Lorelai muttered, burying her head in her pillow.

"She gets that from you," Luke countered.

"What time is it anyway?"

"Just after 6:30, so you need to get moving. Oh." Rory suddenly broke off as she turned to face her parents for the first time and became aware of their state of undress. The different pieces of her father's suit were scattered around the room, and her mother's dress from the previous night was crumpled on the floor beside the bed. Luckily, the sheet covered them enough that Rory was not completely scarred for life, but she nevertheless averted her eyes.

Luke opened his eyes, blinking in the room's sudden brightness. When he looked over at Lorelai, he suddenly realized their current condition. "Uh, Rory? You might want to leave. I'll be down in a few minutes to fix breakfast." Rory nodded mutely before leaving the room. Lorelai groaned as the door closed behind Rory. Luke kissed her softly, and she slowly opened her eyes. "Go take a shower. I'll make some breakfast."

"With coffee," Lorelai told him. Luke raised his eyebrows. "Right. I forgot. I guess tea will have to do."

"I'll see you in a few minutes." When Luke entered the kitchen fully-dressed, he found Rory scrambling a couple eggs.

"Sorry about that. I should've knocked," she muttered.

"We should've been more careful," Luke told her.

"I guess I should be used to that by now."

"We didn't scar you for life, did we?"

"I'll be fine. I'm always knocking though."

"How do egg sandwiches sound?"

"Great."

"Good. I'll get the toast."

"I've got the eggs." Father and daughter worked in silence for a minute before Rory finally said, "Did you remember the stuff for the bake sale?"

"Damn. I knew I was forgetting something."

"Dad! You promised that you'd-" Rory turned to face him and noticed the wide grin on his face. "You're kidding." Luke nodded. "You've been spending too much time around Mom."

"Yeah. It's this funny thing about marriage."

"So you do have the stuff?"

"At the diner. I'll pick it up on the way there."

They left for Chilton around 8:00 that morning. Lorelai and Luke grudgingly allowed Emma and Ellie to stay at the house by themselves, but they took Reid and Will with them. Both boys slept all the way to Hartford, waking only as Luke pulled into a parking space. Lorelai took them to go "exploring" as Luke and Rory left to set up their table. As Luke spread out the containers of cakes and cookies, a tall, good-looking blond woman approached him, extending a perfectly-manicured hand. "Good to see you again, Luke. I'm Trisha Hawes. I believe we met at the last parent-teacher meeting."

"I guess we did," Luke agreed, taking her hand in his own callused one.

"So, this is yours?"

"Yeah, I made these last night with some help from my daughter. Rory."

"Wow. A man who can cook. That's unusual."

"Well, I do own a diner." Luke shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, and Rory smiled at his naïveté. He seemed blissfully unaware of his effect on single women. She wondered what her mother would say if she was present to witness the woman's blatant flirting.

"Dad, think you can help for a minute?" Rory asked, rescuing him.

"Sure. Sorry, I've got to go help my daughter," Luke told the woman, turning.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to keep you from her."

"It was. . . nice to see you again."

"You, too. I'll have to come back later to buy one of these delicious-looking treats." She glanced at the food briefly before focusing her eyes on him.

"I'll see you then." Luke turned to Rory who was shaking her head, wearing a large smile. "Did you need something?" Luke asked.

"Just trying to rescue you from the vulture."

"Oh. Thanks then."

"Just like flies with honey."

"What?"

"Women. They're all over you."

"No, they're not. She was just being nice."

"She was just flirting."

"I'm wearing a wedding ring."

"That hasn't stopped them before."

"Let's just put these desserts out." Luke turned to the containers of cookies and brownies and began to unload them onto large, decorative plates. After a couple minutes, he saw Lorelai approaching with the boys. Sookie trailed along behind her, arms laden with baked goods.

"Look what I found in the parking lot," Lorelai said, gesturing to Sookie who had begun to arrange her food on the table. "Can we keep her?"

"It depends. Is she going to take over my entire table?" Luke eyed her suspiciously.

"Of course not. She just brought a few things to help out. Now, play nice you two. I'm just going to get the rest of the stuff out of your car, okay, Sook?" Lorelai said. Sookie nodded in response, counting her lemon squares as she placed them carefully on an ornate plate. As she walked away, Lorelai heard Rory attempting to placate her father. Lorelai smiled slightly. That was Rory—always trying to make peace.

Lorelai was concentrated so much on trying to hear her daughter and husband talking that she was not paying attention to where she was walking. Her breath suddenly left her body as she ran straight into something solid. A hand reached out to steady her, and a voice asked, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I run into things all the time. Thanks for helping." Lorelai looked up to see Rory's English teacher, Max Medina.

"Actually, I want to talk to you about something. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. It's not about Rory, is it? I mean, I know she didn't do so well on that first paper, but she did really well on that last test, and she's Rory, so-"

Max held up his hand to stop the flow of words from her mouth. "It's not about Rory. She's doing very well. I was quite pleased with her last test grade."

"Well, we tried."

"We?"

"In our house, studying is a family affair."

"It's nice to see a mother so close to her daughter."

"Trust me, it's nice to be close to my daughter. So, Mr. Medina, if you don't want to talk about Rory, what do you want to talk about?"

"First of all, call me Max. Secondly, I just wanted to know if you wanted to have. . . dinner or something sometime."

As always, Lorelai was quick to respond with a witty comment. "Yeah, I want dinner most every night. I've grown rather partial to eating."

"I meant with me," Max clarified quickly.

Suddenly, warning sirens blared in Lorelai's head. Was he actually asking what she thought he was asking? She had a sixteen-year-old daughter, for Christ's sake! Why would he automatically assume that she was single? Lorelai chose her words carefully, trying to provide him with a plausible excuse. "Would this be a celebratory dinner?"

"Sure. If you want it to be."

"Is Rory invited, too?"

"I was thinking it could just be the two of us."

Lorelai decided there was no longer any room to beat around the bush. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"I am."

"At a bake sale to benefit my daughter's school? A school where _you_ teach."

"That's correct." Max was looking increasingly worried.

"Okay, just making sure I got all the facts straight. Isn't this illegal or something?"

"It's not illegal. We're both adults."

"But you're my daughter's _teacher._"

"There's no rule at Chilton that says a teacher can't date a parent."

"I'm still guessing it's frowned upon."

"No one has to know."

"Oh. So now we have to date in secret? I thought we weren't breaking any of the rules."

"We're not."

"That seems pretty sneaky for something completely innocent."

"How about we just go out for coffee?"

"Tempting, but I'll pass."

"Why? Come on, I'll pay."

"Why? Oh, I don't know. Probably because my husband wouldn't approve." Max's attitude was beginning to irk Lorelai, and she responded naturally by raising her voice.

Max blanched. "You're married?"

"I have a sixteen-year-old daughter. Rory. Brown hair, blue eyes. Maybe you've seen her around."

"I'm sorry. I just assmed-"

"You know what they say about assuming."

"It's just that most mothers are divorced."

"Well, I'm certainly not most mothers. Do you think I wore these rings only for show?" Lorelai held up her left hand.

"I didn't even notice."

"Funny how blind we can be sometimes."

"I'm really sorry."

"Do me a favor, Max. Just stay away for a bit."

"But Lorelai-"

"Trust me, that advice is for your own good. Luke can take you any day." With that, Lorelai turned and stormed back to the table where Sookie was flitting around, rearranging the desserts so the layout fit her exacting standards. Luke was pointedly ignoring her; he had crouched down behind the table to talk to the boys. Rory stood behind Sookie, watching her warily. As Lorelai approached, Rory glanced up.

"Good, you're back. We had a bit of a mishap with the lighter, but I fixed it with some punch. You owe that lady two bucks." Rory pointed to a scowling, pinch-faced woman to Lorelai's right.

"Sure, hon," Lorelai muttered, distracted.

"Something wrong, Mom? Aren't you supposed to have the rest of the stuff from Sookie's car?"

"I'll get it later." Lorelai made her way swiftly behind the table and tapped Luke on the shoulder. He looked up and smiled when he saw her, quickly rising to his feet. Before he opened his mouth to greet her, she leaned forward and pressed her lips insistently against his own. He was slightly caught off guard, and he stumbled back a step before catching himself. Momentarily forgetting they were in public, he quickly began to respond. One hand moved to her neck, and the other cupped her hips as he pulled her closer to kiss her deeply. As his tongue began to gently explore her mouth, she reached behind him to pinch his butt, and he pulled away with a blush tingeing his cheeks.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Just marking my territory."

"I guess I'm lucky you decided not to pee on me then."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I've never liked what comes after that question."

"We can go make out somewhere private if it'll make you feel better."

"How private?"

"Somewhere no one can find us." Grabbing his hand, Lorelai steered him to the left of the parking lot and into a small wooded area. After wandering through the trees for a moment, she found a secluded spot and stopped, turning to face Luke. "Here okay?" she asked. Instead of answering with words, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Lorelai stumbled back until her body collided with a tree. Luke placed one hand next to her head to steady them as his other traced the seam down the side of her shirt. When he reached the bottom of the shirt, he fingered the material for a moment before pushing the shirt up to trace the smooth skin beneath it. After a couple minutes, Lorelai slowly pulled away. Luke looked at her curiously, his finger still trailing across her ribs. "Hold that thought. There is something I need to tell you."

Luke groaned and removed his hand from under her shirt, folding both arms across his body. "Okay, what is it?"

"You know Mr. Medina, right?"

"Sure. He's the jerk who gave Rory a D."

"Well, he kinda. . . asked me out earlier."

"What do you mean kinda?"

"He asked if I wanted to have dinner with him. Alone."

"I'll kill the bastard." Luke turned to storm out of the woods, but Lorelai stopped him.

"He didn't know I was married, hon."

"He knows you have a kid! And you wear your wedding rings!"

"He claimed that most mothers here are single."

"That doesn't mean you are! Besides, he shouldn't be dating students' mothers at all even if they are single. That's just wrong!"

"I know, hon, and I told him that. Rather loudly, actually. He's probably off licking his wounds somewhere. I just wanted you to know. No secrets, right?" Luke grunted in response. "Are we still good?"

Luke softened as he looked at her. "Always," he assured her.

"Good. Now, where were we?"


End file.
